Running Among Wolves
by SereneCalamity
Summary: Clary was one of the only humans in Jace's pack, but she was so much more than a human to the werewolves, especially to the Alpha. Werewolf AU. Clace.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my favourite story out of my new ones, and I actually already have a sequel planned if you guys enjoy this one. As a point of reference for the appearance of the werewolves, they look like the ones on_ Teen Wolf _when they're changed, not full wolf looking, just the face and claws and fangs. Google image it if you're unsure. I hope you guys enjoy this, because I absolutely loved writing this one!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own the characters._

Sometimes Clarissa Fray wondered how she ended up here.

Running through the woods, her clothing shredded and blood dripping down her arms and her legs burning, chased by men who were carrying guns that were loaded with bullets made of silver and laced with wolfsbane. Her hair was flying out behind her, a completely tangled mess around her face, thanking God that she had worn a good pair of running shoes that afternoon when she had been hauled off on yet another one of these adventures.

And with werewolves at her side.

Just three years ago, she was in high school, flirting with the hot, dark haired guy who sat behind her in Chemistry and was on the basketball team. She had plans to go off to University in the city, she wanted to get away from the town she had grown up in, get away from the memories of her abusive father and away from the cattiness and drama of teenager-hood. Her mother had planned to move to New York, in with her boyfriend, Luke Greymark, who she had been seeing for over two years and had actually been in a relationship with before she had met Clary's father. Her best friend, Simon Lewis, was far too smart for his own good and was planning on getting out of the township as well for some sort of forensic science degree.

They had even made it out of the tiny town, moving into a bigger township about an hour and a half away, a few weeks after they finished school. It was just meant to be a temporary thing, they had both been accepted into Universities across the country, and until they had to leave in four months time, they wanted to get some time away from their parents and their high school companions. They got a dingy little apartment together, found part time jobs, and everything went well for all of three months. Simon started dating a pretty girl, a girl that Clary got on well with, and things seemed as though they were getting serious. Clary was actually getting a bit worried that maybe Simon was going to put off his plans for University for a year, just so he could spend time with her, but then there was the accident.

It had been a late night, Clary and Simon had been coming home from a movie when suddenly the car was spinning out of control, and they were skidding across the empty street directly toward a power pole. Simon's side of the car had taken the brunt of the attack, and he hadn't been conscious when suddenly a creature that Clary thought was a hallucination had appeared on his side of the car and roared. It's eyes were glowing, and there was a sickly smell that assaulted her senses, and she wasn't able to even scream when suddenly it was frightened and taking off into the dense woods. At the time, Clary had absolutely no idea how Isabelle Lightwood and her angry looking friends had showed up only minutes after the accident, and hunkered down over Simon's twisted body in the driver seat. Clary had been in shock, barely able to process what was going on, all she could see was Simon, covered in blood, looking broken and barely breathing.

Isabelle had been pleading with the furious looking golden man that Clary had seen around a few times. Clary couldn't understand what was happening, the dark haired man that Clary was pretty certain was Isabelle's brother, had hauled her out of the passenger side of the car. The next day she would realize that he had actually ripped off the door car and pulled her out, but at the time she was just staring dumbly at Simon. She didn't get what Isabelle kept saying, asking the golden haired man to save Simon—he didn't _look_ like any kind of doctor. They were having some argument, and Clary just kept mumbling Simon's name over and over again, trying to reach out for her friend, and the golden haired man had looked at her. His expression was torn, but it must have been a combination of Isabelle's begging and the look on Clary's face that made up his mind.

Then his eyes flashed red and suddenly his face morphed into something maybe similar to the creature she had originally seen, and there were a whole lot of sharp teeth, and then Clary blacked out.

 _That_ was how she ended up here.

A shot rang out beside her ear and Clary instinctively ducked her head, but kept right on running. She heard a growl nearby, but there had been no hisses or howls of pain, so she assumed that the shot hadn't hit anyone around her. They just had to get a little bit further, just a few more minutes of running and they would meet the rest of their pack, then they would be safe.

Another shot sounded off, this one a whole lot closer to Clary's face, and she felt her fast beginning to rabbit even faster, and then suddenly there was a vicious roar and her body acted automatically, throwing herself to the ground in a roll. The rest of the pack had heard the gunshots and must have run toward them. The were's around her would have heard them coming but it's not as though they had time to tell her.

That was fine, though, Jace Herondale's roar had been enough to notify her of their presence.

She hit the ground just in time for Jace, Alec Lightwood and Jem Carstairs leap past her. Their eyes were glowing, their faces wolfed out, all three of them snarling. With their Alpha and two other pack mates at their sides, Simon, Isabelle, Max Lightwood and Maia Roberts spun around to face the hunters that were advancing on them. Magnus Bane wasn't too far behind them, blue magic swirling around his fingers and his eyes glowing gold, a similar gold to the beta wolves. He looked down at her for a moment, glancing her over, and she gave him a short nod, assuring him that she was okay, before turning back to face the hunters.

The hunters exploded through the tree line and came to a stop when they saw six werewolves and a warlock, rather than just three were's and a human like they had thought they had been chasing.

"This isn't your territory, Alpha," the hunter in the front spat out at him, waving his gun around, the men on either side of him glaring at the eight in front of them. Clary got to her feet, trying to control her breathing, wiping her hands on her jeans. Even her human senses could hear more people approaching behind them, but from the way the were's weren't panicking, she guessed that it wasn't a threat.

"No, but it is mine," Will Herondale appeared behind them, along with his second in command, Bartholomew Velasquez, close behind him. "And you're not welcome here." The hunter in front, who was clearly the one in charge, clenched his jaw and glared between all of the were's.

"Maybe you should have thought about who was going to come after you if you attacked one of ours," the hunter snapped. Clary glanced from side to side, noting the way that Simon and Max were scenting the air. She wasn't sure what they could smell, but whatever it was made them give one another strange looks. Alec seemed to be able to sense the same thing, because his frown deepened.

"If one of mine attacked one of your hunters, it was because they were a threat," Will stated, his voice taunt as he tried to keep his anger under control. "However, none of my pack has attacked anyone, human or otherwise, and so there is no reason for you to be here."

"It was my little sister!" The hunter on the left yelled out, and Clary stepped to the side to look over Jace's shoulder to look at the man talking. Jace turned his head to the side slightly to look back at her, before returning his gaze steadily at the three hunters. The man on the left seemed uncertain, and the more she stared at him, the younger he looked—maybe even younger than her. "And it was only a couple of miles from here! It was on _your_ territory!"

"I'm sorry for your loss," Will's words weren't exactly sincere, but then again, these three men had trespassed onto a packs territory with the intent of harming one of his own, so he couldn't exactly be blamed. "But it was not us. Now, no one has been harmed, and given the circumstances, I'm going to let this slide." Clary's eyebrows raised as she looked over at Will, who's eyes were burning red. It was a surprisingly calm decree for the man, given how quick tempered and quite frankly, violent, he could be. She guessed that Jace had been the one to plant the idea in his head, subtly letting him know that attacking these men wouldn't lead anywhere good.

"The police declared it an animal attack," the first hunter was speaking again. "We all know what that's code for."

"I will look into it," Will snapped, his red eyes flashing and his fangs beginning to show. "But it was _Not. Us_." Bat shifted behind his Alpha, clearly coiled tightly, reading to lash out if given the signal. "If I so much as smell you around the borders of my territory, there will be problems." The hunters knew they were outnumbered, and they knew that they were getting let off lightly, so the three of them began backing off.

"Follow them," Jace grunted as he looked over at Max and Alec, and Will jerked his head at Bat, who nodded, and took off after the two other beta's.

"Well, that was fun," Magnus sung out, his eyes fading back to their usual green-gold colour and the blue swirling magic around his hands disappeared into thin air. "But it's almost three in the morning and I'm more than ready for my beauty sleep."

"Gonna take more than sleep to fix that face," Clary smirked and nudged Magnus in the side. Magnus rolled his eyes at her and grinned, throwing an arm around her shoulder. Clary winced at the sudden contact and he frowned at her. "Don't worry, just landed wrong," Jace's head whipped around, his eyes narrowing at her as he looked her over. Now that the adrenaline was starting to subside, Clary could feel the sting of the cuts on her arms and one on her cheek, and her shoulder was throbbing. Jace was practically glaring over at her, and she knew that he wanted to reach out and drag away her pain with his powers, but he restrained himself, knowing she would just pull away.

"Let's go," Will stated, and the were's relaxed, clearly the hunters far enough away that they felt safe to leave. Jace was still staring at Clary, and she stopped herself from making a face at him. Finally, he looked away, back at his cousin.

"You weren't surprised about the attack on his sister," Jace's voice was low, almost a growl. "What's going on?" Will sighed as he shoved his fingers through his hair.

"About a month ago we smelt a werewolf that must have been passing through," he admitted. "We knew that there was a dead body, the sheriff told us, and we went by and saw the girl. The were's scent was all over it." Jace's eyes were sparking red, and Clary knew that he was wondering why Will just let it go without telling them, even though Will was within his rights to do so since Jace's territory was several hours away. Will knew that was what Jace was thinking as well, because he continued with a sigh. "Look, it was right on the outskirts of our territory, we didn't smell the were until the body was discovered and he was long gone. We followed the scent for as long as we could, but they disappeared."

"Alright, well, you'll contact me if you need to?" Jace raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Are you heading home? Or did you want to spend another night?" Will asked as he and Jace started walking ahead of the were's, Jem and Simon nudging up against Clary's side, both of them looking over her scratches and her shoulder, the pair of them concerned.

"We're going to start home," Jace replied. "Our things are all packed up and Jordan has booked us into a hotel about two hours away, on the way home." There was a rush of footsteps and suddenly Bat, Max and Alec were running back toward them. They were almost near the main road, where there cars were parked, and when they got out of the woods, Clary tipped her head back to look up at the bright moon that was shining down on them.

"When are we seeing you around again, huh?" Bat came up beside Clary with a grin. She grinned back at him as she dropped her chin to face him.

"I don't know, Bat. But you've got my number, you know how to reach me." It was playful flirting, it happened whenever they were together, both of them dancing around each other even though nothing was ever going to happen. "Although don't call me tonight, or tomorrow. I'm so fucked, I'm pretty sure I'm going to sleep for the next twenty-four hours."

"Alright, girl," Bat leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. The growl from behind him made Clary roll her eyes, and Bat made a face as though it didn't bother him, but Clary felt him pull away a little quicker, his posture stiffening. Jace stood there, his eyes flashing a warning red at Bat, who gave a respectful nod and then walked off.

"Oh yeah, you're a big, bad Alpha," Clary rolled her eyes again as Jace stared at her. She sighed, the remaining adrenaline in her body leaving her body. "Are we done here? I'm ready to get to that hotel room." Jace nodded shortly, looking over his shoulder toward the rest of his pack who was saying goodbye to Will and Bat.

"We're off," Jace grunted, his voice quiet but his pack all quickly finishing their goodbyes and walking toward their Alpha. Jace put his hand at the small of Clary's back, directing her toward where their cars were parked.

 _Right! So...How was it?_

 _I've got lots of recommendations I want to make coz I've been away for so long, but I'll just throw a couple out there. Movies—_ Moana _! It was amazing. So was_ Rogue One _, which I didn't expect to like because I'm not a big fan of Felicity Jones, but it was incredible, and Diego Luna is my new love. And a couple of songs I'm in love with at the moment are_ Falling For You _by Lyon Hart and_ Dangerously _by Charlie Puth._

 _Alright, so, tell me...Did you guys all have an amazing Christmas/New Years? Me and my hubby always travel for Christmas to see extended family, but it was just a quiet one at home with a couple of his family members, so that was nice. And for New Years we rented out a house by the beach with a couple of our close friends, so that was amazing._

 _Tell me what you guys got up to, and leave a review._

 _And if you guys want a preview of the next chapter, just ask, and I'll throw one out there ;) Don't forget to check out the new multi-chapter stories, which you guys all voted on, as well as a bunch of new oneshots I've written. I've gone and put some of them up :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey, guys! So here's the next update! There's been several reviews telling me that I'm not a very good writer/not being fair because I haven't updated this in a while. I'm so, so glad you guys are enjoying the story and wanting it to be updated, but as it states in my profile, this is not a story on a regular updating schedule. This is not a story that I will be updating once or twice a month; several months could pass without me updating. This is not something I get paid for, this is not something that I have heaps and heaps of time to spend doing. I have a full time job, I have a husband, I have health issues and I have a social life. This is something that I do for fun and for free, please remember that. Even if my stories are not updated as regularly as some may like, my stories will_ always _get completed._

 _Thank you, and on with the story!_

They were piled into three cars, heading out of Will's territory and back toward their own. Will was Jace's cousin, four years older than him, and he was an Alpha of his own pack. His pack, however was a lot smaller than Jace's, with only four of them in total. Bat had reported back to Will that there were hunters sniffing around their territory, and so he had called his cousin and the rest of his pack to come and back them up. It had been three days, and they had spent time at Will's home, which was large and smelt like the ally pack, but it was beginning to get a bit stifling. They were feeling a bit overwhelmed, being surrounded by scents that weren't just _their_ pack. That was why before they had gone out to confront the hunters, Jace had told Jordan Kyle to pack up their things and book them into a hotel that was on their way home, so that they could spend a night with just their own pack.

Clary fell asleep on the way to the hotel, laying down in the backseat of Jace's car with her head on Max's lap, Alec in the front seat, leaning back against the head rest. Simon, Isabelle and Magnus were following in Isabelle's car, and Jem and Maia were bringing up the rear. When they arrived at the hotel, Max woke Clary up, and she let out a groan as she shifted and her shoulder throbbed. Jace turned in the front seat, his eyes settling on her arm before looking back at her face.

"Don't even think about it," she muttered as she got out of the car. Werewolves healed fast, and Magnus helped them all heal even faster with a flick of his fingers. If she was hurt badly, she would accept their help, let them drag the pain out of her body with their powers, but a lot off the pain she would deal with herself. With the way they lived, it was her way of remembering that she was human and holding onto it. The werewolves were just as tired as Clary, they were dragging their feet and rubbing their eyes, only Jace looking strong and alert in the front of the pack.

"You wake up my kid and I'll kick your ass," Maia grumbled from behind them as they reached the door for the hotel room that Jordan Kyle had booked them into. It wasn't the flashiest of hotels, but it looked clean and good enough for the night. Jace tapped his fingers against the door, careful not to knock too loudly. There was some movement behind the door, and all the were's could hear the two heartbeats and breathing inside, both of them familiar to the pack. Jordan opened the door, his eyes blurry and half lidded with sleep. He smiled when he saw them, stepping aside to let the were's inside and then reaching out to hug Maia.

"Is Sammy asleep?" Isabelle asked as she looked over toward the port-a-cot in the corner of the room.

"She only just went back to sleep," Jordan said quietly.

"Like I said," Maia repeated, raising her eyebrows as she looked around at her pack. "You wake up my kid and I'll kick your ass." The room that Jordan had hired was probably the biggest one that the hotel provided, with two queen sized beds, a single in the corner and a couch running along one wall next to the TV. The pack had spent the last three days around other werewolves, and they were exhausted, and smelt like another pack. Tonight was about resting and surrounding themselves with one another.

"Does anyone want to shower before I use the bathroom?" Clary asked softly. There were shakes of peoples heads and she nodded, picking up the first aid kit Jordan must have brought in when he had come in and walked into the adjoining bathroom. She doubted that many of the were's were going to actually shower before going to bed, although Isabelle might. She didn't shut the door all of the way, leaving it with a slight crack between the door and the frame, and then looked at her reflection in the mirror. There were a couple of deep scratches on her arms that must have been from the branches, and she was probably going to have a bruise on her shoulder. She sighed as she pulled off her shirt, careful as she inched it over her right arm.

When she had managed to pull the shirt off and drop it to the ground, Jace was standing behind her, the door now firmly shut.

"That's going to be ugly in a few hours time," he grunted as he nodded at her shoulder.

"I'll be fine," Clary replied as she looked properly at the bathroom mirror, able to get a better view now that she just had a bra on. There were a few more scratches on her stomach, but none of them as deep as on her arms. She ignored Jace as she dampened the corner of a flannel and started to wipe down the dirt on her arms and around the outside of the scratches. Every movement she made with her right hand made her wince, even though she was trying to hide it from the Alpha. Jace watched her for a few minutes, his eyebrows pulled together, before he stepped forward. "Jace..." she began warningly.

"Just let me," Jace said, his voice even but his eyes were practically begging her. He had clearly wanted to do it earlier, but had held back because he knew that she could handle it. It was more because _he_ couldn't handle seeing her in pain. She sighed and relented, leaning back against his chest.

One of the many powers that werewolves, particularly Alpha's, had was that they could drain others pain, take it into their own body because pain in their bodies faded quickly. He was warm and sturdy, and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and his veins turned a dark colour as he drained the pain from her body, taking it on himself. Her mind felt a little light headed, and she pulled away after a moment, even though she liked the feeling of his body against hers.

"That's enough," Clary told him. Jace nodded, respecting her wish, although he then reached past her for the first aid kit. Clary turned around to face him, leaning against the vanity unit. Jace's eyes glanced over her torso before they focused on the scratches on her arms. He took out a couple of disinfectant wipes and began to clean them. Clary was used to the Alpha feeling the need to look after her, as the only human in the pack other than Jordan, but there had always been something more when it came to the two of them.

"Move your hair," he murmured as he looked at the cut on her neck. Clary shifted her hair over her shoulder and tilted her head to the side, exposing her throat to him. It wasn't always the smartest idea to show such blatant submission to a werewolf, especially to an Alpha, but he was her pack, and she trusted him with her life. Jace cleaned the cut out and then bandaged up the two deeper cuts on her arms, the rest of them fine to leave exposed. Clary didn't move after he had finished, and he put down the wipes on the bench, resting his hands gently on her arms, running them up and down. "You okay?" He muttered.

"I'm fine, Jace. You and I both know that I've had worse," Clary shrugged, and then tried to cover up her wince as she jostled her shoulder. Jace let his head dip forward, touching his cheek to hers, taking in a deep breath. His nose dipped down lower, his breath caressing over her neck as he reached her shoulder. Clary knew that what he was doing was instinctual—he was touching her along where Bat had touched her earlier, undoubtedly trying to smother the scent of the other werewolf. He kept on rubbing his hands up and down her arms, his lips touching the curve of her shoulder, scent marking her. When he seemed satisfied that she smelt like him, he stepped back. Clary gave him a tired smile before pulling her shirt back over her head and walked out of the bathroom.

Jordan and Maia were cuddled together on the single bed beside the port-a-cot, and Samantha Kyle was fast asleep, her thumb in her mouth and the hand clutching a little stuffed wolf that Clary had brought for her just after she had been born. Clary walked over to the cot, leaning over the edge and pressing a kiss against the little girls olive skinned cheek, nuzzling her nose against the soft skin. Sammy was a werewolf, her eyes flashing gold when she was about three months old. Thankfully her senses weren't tuned enough that she would wake up when there were other people in the room, but she still craved the touch and scent of the others in her pack, just like the other were's. Sam made a snuffling noise, following Clary's movements before the older girl pulled away.

Max and Alec were sitting on the couch, looking less tired than they did before, both of them obviously feeling better being in a safe place, surrounded by their pack, their knees touching together. Simon, Isabelle and Jem were cuddled together on one of the queen sized beds, arms all wrapped around each other, Isabelle fast asleep and Simon and Jem were on their way there as well. Magnus was on the other bed, and Clary let out a sigh of relief as she crawled next to him, resting her head on the pillow beside him.

"You want me to fix that up?" Magnus murmured to her sleepily, touching her shoulder.

"I'm fine," Clary mumbled. "I just want to sleep." Magnus nodded, helping her get under the blankets and then rolling over. Two of the lamps in the room were still turned on, but it was somewhere around four in the morning now, and she was most definitely going to fall asleep within minutes.

"You two need to get some sleep," she heard Jace say to Max and Alec as he came back into the lounge.

"We can take first watch," Alec replied.

"I'll take the first watch," Jace answered and Clary rolled her eyes from where she was burrowed underneath the blankets. Typical Jace, trying to take everything on himself.

"No, man," Max piped up. "You get some sleep. We'll wake you up in a few hours." She wasn't too sure what was happening on the other side of the room, but the lights were soon turned off, and she felt the bed dip behind her. A moment later, an arm was slid around her waist, pulling her close against Jace's body. The Alpha flattened his hand against her lower stomach, pressing his lips against the back of her neck. Her eyes closed, enjoying the way his fingers rubbed circles lightly against her skin and his nose dipped into her hair.

She fell asleep, feeling warm and loved by her pack.

 _Songs this time..._ Symphony _by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Lasson. Holy shit. So completely in love._ Shape of You _, the cover by Madilyn Bailey. This chick has_ suuuch _an incredible voice, I love most of her covers, but this one is amazing. And the song_ Shout _, the version by Think Up Anger, that was on Riverdale. It's incredible. Also, I finally got around to watching_ The Get Down _, and I can't believe I waited so long,_

 _Let me know what songs you guys are listening to, and if you guys have seen_ The Get Down _!_

 _Did you guys like the chapter? Yes, no, maybe?_

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think :)_

 _Also, I would like to say Transgender Day of Visibility for the other day xx_

 _If you guys are logged in and want a preview, just let me know, and I'll send one out!_


	3. Chapter 3

_We've got an update! This was quicker update this time, only a month. A lot of people want a time frame for the updates with this story, but just remember—this is not one of my stories that is on a regular schedule. I will try to update this one every two or three months. When I've got more time and written a bit more, I will put it on the regular schedule—I promise!_

 _Now, before we get into it, I just wanted to put a quick note, just to remind you guys that there is difference between_ Ache For Us _and_ Running Among Wolves. _While they're both werewolf stories,_ Ache For Us _is a Mates!AU. There's just a couple of questions asking about the difference between them and I wanted to make sure I said something; so_ Ache For Us _is a specific mates trope, while_ Running Among Wolves _, they don't have just one person in the whole world who is their 'one'._

 _Also_ — _there's been some problems with uploading, giving me errors when I'm uploading, and apparently not sending out alerts to you guys by email. So...Fingers crossed this works for everyone this time!_

When Clary woke up, she was warm, but she instantly knew that it wasn't Jace behind her. She twisted her neck to look over her shoulder and saw Magnus fast asleep still. When she turned back to face forward, Max was the one sleeping there, tucked back against her and their legs tangled together. The teenager looked even younger when he was fast asleep, his dark hair flopping over her forehead, and Clary reached out sleepily with one finger, tucking a lock of unruly hair behind his ear. Jem was in the bed next to them, fast asleep with Isabelle, and Maia and Jordan were still in the far one, with Sammy in the cot next to them. Sammy was awake now, but she seemed to be content with playing with the soft toys in her cot. Simon was sitting on the couch near the door, flipping through a book.

"Hey," Clary's voice was barely a rasp, but Simon instantly looked over at her. She had no doubt that he had heard the exact change in her heart beat when she had woken up, but he probably thought that she was going to go back to sleep. "Where's Jace and Alec?" She asked, making sure to keep her voice quiet to hopefully not disturb anyone else in the room.

"They went out a couple of hours ago, said they would be back soon," Simon shrugged a shoulder. "I'm sure if you text him, he would come running," he smirked at her.

"Shut up," Clary rolled her eyes, not in the mood for his teasing this early in the morning. Although when she squinted at the clock on the wall, it looked as though it was nearly ten o'clock, but after the late night that they had had, it was still far too early to be awake now. She dropped her head back to the pillow, taking in a deep breath through her nose and gathering in the familiar scents of the people—the pack—around her. Maybe she didn't have the super senses of the were's around her, but she definitely understood the comforts of being surrounded by her family.

The next time Clary woke up, she and Magnus were two of the only ones asleep, other than Maia, who was snoring softly. The front door to their motel room was partially open and Clary could hear low tones from outside, so she guessed some of their friends were out there. The shower was running and the door was shut, and she heard a giggle from inside. She raised an eyebrow and shifted until she was sitting up in bed and Jace came into the room.

"Isabelle and Simon," he stated gruffly as he nodded toward the shut door.

"Oh, lovely," Clary wrinkled her nose and the corner of Jace's lips twitched in a smirk before he sat down on the edge of the bed. "What time did you get back?"

"Just now," he responded, his voice still quiet. "Jem and Max have gone to a diner down the road to get food, and Jordan is letting Sammy crawl around in the park out the back before she needs to get in the car for the drive back." Clary nodded as she rubbed her eyes, waking up properly and blinking a couple more times. She pushed back the blankets and shifted forward until she reached the end of the bed, resting her feet on the floor. The shower had turned off, and Clary could hear the hum of Isabelle and Simon's voices as they spoke quietly to each other. The door opened shortly after, Isabelle wrapped in a towel that really didn't cover all that much, and Simon wearing a pair of sweatpants.

"I thought I could smell you," Isabelle stated with a curl of her lip as she looked over at Jace. Clary's eyebrows went up as she looked over at the Alpha, wondering what had invoked the look of distaste on Isabelle's face. "You smell like a morgue."

"A morgue?!" Clary's eyebrows pulled together. "What were you doing at a morgue?!"

"There were just a couple of things that Alec and I wanted to look over," Jace gave a one shouldered shrug as he stood up. "Wake them up," he nodded at the two that were still sleeping. "Jem and Max will be back soon with food, and then we can head back home." Isabelle looked like she wanted to push Clary's question about the morgue, but she just pursed her lips together and gathered up some clothes, going back into the bathroom to get dressed. Clary frowned at Jace, and he stood up, standing over her.

"Everything's fine," he told her briefly, his hand cupping her neck and brushing his thumb across one side of her jaw before he nodded toward Magnus and Maia. "Wake them up."

Jace and words weren't exactly friends. Isabelle joked on almost a daily basis that he was emotionally constipated, even though anyone who knew Jace knew that he felt things deeply, he just had a different way of showing it. Clary hadn't exactly been scared of Jace when she had first become involved in this supernatural world that was now her life, but she had definitely been wary of him. He seemed to glare at everyone, and was overly possessive when it came to certain things, and a lot of the time he just spoke in short, gruff sentences. But the more she got to know him, the more she realized just how much he cared.

While Simon hadn't actually been bitten by a rogue Alpha and he had indeed been turned by Jace, a few days after the accident when Clary was actually able to process what was going on, Isabelle had explained that it definitely had seemed like the rogue's intention to do just that. They had tried to find the rogue, but to no avail. It had taken Simon a few months to properly adapt, and sometimes Clary disagreed with the methods of learning that Jace had, and her and Jace often got into arguments about them.

She didn't understand the pack dynamics at the time, how everyone would just fall in line with whatever Jace would say. Even when there were disagreements—which happened frequently, given how strong willed his pack was—at the end of the day, they would follow Jace's lead. Even Simon. When Clary had asked Simon to explain to her what it was, he said he wasn't too sure how to phrase it, it was just this pull inside him, this need to follow his Alpha. But the longer she was there, the more she could see that Jace only wanted what was best for his pack, and that extended to her.

Jem had become a werewolf in a similar way to Simon. Forcibly. When he was fifteen, he was attacked when coming home from school after a late night basketball practice. It was about a year and a half after Simon had been turned, and Max had been the one to scent the boy and the change out at school. He had only been fourteen at the time, and had gone back to his Alpha, telling Jace what he had smelt. Jace confronted Jem, who still hadn't realized what had happened, but knew that something was definitely wrong. Alec and Jace had investigated the area where he had been bitten, and the scent there was the same one from when Simon and Clary's car had been attacked. Jace had helped Jem adjust, and when his parents had moved out of town a year ago, he had moved in with Jace.

Alec, Isabelle and Max had come to Shadow Hills with Jace four years ago. Both of their parents were beta's, and their Alpha had been an older werewolf, Jeremiah Brother. But given the strong tie that they had to Jace, especially since he had come to live with them after his pack had been killed, they had chosen to follow him. Max was only young, just twelve, but his wolf clearly recognized Jace as his Alpha and so his parents had filled out all the necessary _human_ paperwork to allow him go. Pack was family, and they knew that Jace would protect Max at all costs, and look out for his best interests.

Maia had already been in the town when they had moved in, and she had been with Jordan since they were in high school. He was human, and knew that she was a werewolf, and accepted that about her, and she had been more than happy to become part of Jace's pack. The township itself was still technically Herondale territory, even though he hadn't been there for several years, so any werewolves in the area had the choice to either join his pack or leave. There had been a couple of other werewolves in the town as well, both of whom left shortly after Jace arrived.

Magnus was a powerful spark, who had been happy floating between packs and just making his own way. But once he had met Alec, the pair had practically been joined at the hip. It was a similar sort of connection to what Simon and Isabelle had, given their relationship had just become more cemented once he had become a werewolf, and also Maia and Jordan. After they had gotten closer, Jace had told her that his parents had been the same. It was their wolf half, completely comfortable with the other person, becoming anchored to them, stabling the two halves of themselves. Clary wanted to ask if Jace had ever thought he had met someone like that, but she knew he had a bad past when it came to relationships, or at least, one terrible relationship.

"Hey, look at who it is," came a soft voice from the doorway, and Clary looked up to see Jordan standing there, Sammy in his arms. "It's Aunty Clary." Clary smiled as she got up from her spot on the bed. "You mind holding her while I go to the bathroom?" Jordan asked, already passing the little girl over.

"I think Izzy's just in there right now," Clary replied as she took Sammy and nuzzled her nose against the little girls. Sammy giggled as their noses bumped together, patting her hand against Clary's cheek as she gurgled something unintelligible. Isabelle came out of the bathroom and Jordan disappeared inside. "What do you say that we wake up mummy, huh?" Sammy giggled again as she and Clary walked over to where Maia was stirring, unaware of Jace watching them from the doorway.

 _Sorry, this is going to be a little bit of a long A/N—only because I've got a lot that I want to recommend to you guys! Movie wise; I've only just seen_ Moonlight _, taken me a while to get there, but I saw it, and I loved it. My heart was aching through it, but it was beautiful._ Beauty and the Beast, _it was great. Was really worried because I loved the original so much, but it was great. And also_ Logan _, shit—I managed to hold it together right at the end, where Laura changed the cross to a X. Then I kind of lost it. So I absolutely recommend all thee of these._

 _Now, with TV series—_ Big Little Lies _. Holy SHIT! This was incredible! I binged the whole thing in one morning. It was sooooo good. I've also just started watching_ American Gods _, and I've got high hopes for it :) AND_ SENSE8 _SEASON 2 IS OUT! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! And it's just as amazing as ever! Also, I've got some song recommendations;_ Enjoy The Ride _and_ Alive _, by Krewella. Great songs, I've had them on repeat for the past couple of weeks. And then_ Red _, by Tyler Ward. The original song is by Taylor Swift, although I've never actually heard that version, only the one by Tyler, and it's so fucking beautiful._

 _And finally, I've got two stories that I'm pretty obsessed with. The first one I've been meaning to recommend for ages, but I just kept forgetting! It's by reppinda5o3, who is absolutely fucking amazing and listens to all my word vomit with my stories and is always there for me when I need to rant/rave. It's called_ Clarissa Is A Punk _, it's an AU story, she write in incredible detail, and you should all check it out! The second story is_ The Cry of The Wild _, another AU story, by happiness trap. She updates frequently as well, so that's always a plus!_

 _Alright—so let me know what you think of the update! Did you enjoy it? Let me know what your recommendations for songs, fics, movies or TV series are, and if you guys agree with the ones I've included._

 _If you'd like a preview of the next chapter and you're logged in, let me know, and I'll send it out xx_

 _Also, it's my birthday next week, so a review would be a pretty nice present from ya'll :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_An update for my favourite story!_

Clary was tired when she dragged herself out of bed at five thirty in the morning. They had all gotten home yesterday afternoon, but they had gone back to the Herondale house out on the edge of the town. Most of the pack lived out there, actually— _all_ of them did, except Clary needed her own space. She still had a bedroom that was pretty much her's in the sprawling home, and she spent more time there than in her own home, but it was still nice to have her own space. Clary went out for a run, the sun coming up and lighting her way as it got closer to half past six, and when she got home, she stepped into her shower. Her shoulder was still aching, both Jace and Simon had not so subtly been touching her throughout the day yesterday, taking away her pain.

Technically she didn't need to be at work until around eight, but she had already needed to take a couple of days off, and she felt bad for leaving Helen Penhallow-Blackthorn in the lurch the past few days, even though there were other people to help her. Helen ran the best—and almost the only—daycare in the town, and so she had three other workers helping her out, but Clary was the one that helped her out the most, and that she was closest to.

The fact Helen was pregnant as well made her feel guiltier for leaving.

So Clary was out of her house, drinking a smoothie and tucking her singlet into the skirt that she was wearing, by seven. She got to the day care ten minutes later, pulling into the spot reserved for her, next to Helen's. She was the first one there, which worked for her. Gave her time to get everything ready before parents started dropping their kids off, get started on the accounting books and the wages that she should have had finished by yesterday. The place was tidy, and she couldn't help but grin as she looked around. It would only take minutes for this place to look like a tornado had swept through it once the kids started to arrive.

Twenty minutes after Clary had gotten in, Helen came in the front door, calling out her name. Clary grinned as she got up and walked out of the office, down the hallway and back into the main area.

"Hey, sweetie!" Helen gave her a wide smile, her blonde ringlets bouncing around her face. Her cheeks were a little rounder than they had been six months ago, and her stomach was pressing against the loose yellow dress that she was wearing. "I'm glad you're back!" Clary smiled at her, and then made a face as Helen gave her a once over. "You've got a couple of scratches, and that's not pretty looking," Helen pointed at Clary's shoulder which was on display because the red head was only wearing a singlet.

"Yeah, I fell wrong," Clary made a face. "It's fine." Helen pursed her lips for a moment before fluttering her eyelashes and pouting slightly, her intention clear. "No, it's fine, El. I'll heal like a normal human being." Helen continued to pout, making her blue-green eyes big and begging. "Oh for fucks sakes," Clary rolled her eyes. "You know, when you have a child who does this puppy dog routine on you, you're going to know all about this emotional blackmail that you force on me." Helen grinned and reached out. Her cool fingers touched against Clary's skin. There was a warm feeling, and when Clary looked down at her shoulder, she saw the bruise was gone. Helen dropped her arm and Clary moved her shoulder around, the pain gone as well. "Bloody faeries," Clary mumbled.

"You love me, really," Helen smiled. She opened her mouth to say something else, but there was noise outside, and a moment later, their first parent with her two children arrived.

Clary loved her job.

Yes, it wasn't where she thought that she would be, but a whole lot of things had changed in the past few years which had completely altered her reality. Clary had planned on going to University to get a Bachelor of Arts and then do an extra year on top of that so that she could get her teaching licence, and had been planning to get a job at a high school in the art department. She loved art, and she was good at painting, and the art room at her own high school had been her escape many times. The last couple of years of school were more about the kids who wanted to be there, the ones who weren't interested dropping out earlier, and those were the ones she wanted to help.

After Simon was bitten, things had gotten a little hazy for a while. She had considered going through with her original plan, to go to University. She had actually left and lasted almost two months in the city before she broke down, knowing that she couldn't leave behind her best friend, and the strange life he was now a part of. So she had packed up, filled in all the paper work to drop out of her course, and gone back to Shadow Hills. She was still liable for a portion of the loan that she had taken out since she had attended classes for a few weeks, but a month after she was back home, she got a letter in the post to say that it had been paid off.

Clary had been confused about it for almost a year, asking her mum if she had done it, or if she thought that her absentee father had done it out of some misguided attempt to bond. She even called the University, but they had just said that a transfer went through, they didn't ask for names or trace bank accounts. So she had chalked it up to some good Samaritan, until Max had let it slip that Jace had had his beta find out how much was owing. When she had confronted Jace about it, asking why he paid her loan, and he had just shrugged, not giving her anymore information. She had pressed it a few more times, but he had never given her a straight answer. She had dropped it after a while, because when Jace didn't want to talk about something, he wasn't going to discuss it when he was being pressed.

It had been a few months later, when her and Jace were sitting on the balcony outside his house, the beta's all disappeared into the woods in their wolfed out forms, that he admitted it was him. She already knew it was, but she didn't say that, just stayed quiet and let him continue. He said that he felt responsible for her coming back, for making her give up her future, and it was the least he could do. Clary told him it was her choice, but she knew he didn't believe that. The Alpha always took things on his shoulders, as though everything was his responsibility. With his past, it was understandable why he felt the need to punish himself, but the only person who really blamed him for things that happened was himself.

"You're back!" Came a squeal from Lucy Anderson, one of the girls who only came by in the mornings and the afternoon given she was five and going to school.

"I am," Clary grinned as the little blonde barreled into her legs, and then gave her a toothy smile.

"Can you paint with me? _Please_?" She cast a look over her shoulder before lowering her voice. "Helen painted with me the other day, but she's not as good as you." Clary laughed and nodded.

"Sure thing, sweetie. But after school, okay? We don't want you getting paint all over your clothes beforehand," Clary reasoned. "Why don't you put your bag and go outside?" Lucy nodded and trotted off. As the morning went on, more kids arrived, along with the other workers. There was only one other worker there who knew about the supernatural in town and why Clary had been out of town, and Lydia Branwell came over and asked if everything had gone okay.

Lydia and her grandmother, Charlotte Branwell, were like Clary. They were human, but they had gotten caught in the middle of the supernatural mess. Hardly any humans actually knew of the supernatural, except for people who were directly involved in it, or several supernatural hunters, like the ones they had chased out of Will's town. Lydia's fiancee had been killed by what the police had explained away as a 'freak animal attack', but had actually been a wendigo. Jace and his pack had found the creature who had attacked her fiancee and had killed it. Usually they didn't tell humans what they had found, except Lydia had been kicking up such a fuss, saying that the police were wrong and she was going to go to the wider media if no one looked further into it, and that would just draw more attention to the matter. So Jace had made a decision to tell her, and they hadn't regretted it.

This had all been before Clary and Simon had known them. By the time Clary and Simon had moved into the township, Lydia seemed to have a thing for Alec, which was a bit awkward, since the minute Clary met Alec, she knew that he was gay. Alec didn't come out until about a year and a half ago, letting Lydia down softly and starting up a relationship with Magnus.

"Yeah, it was just a couple of hunters," Clary murmured, making sure to keep her voice quiet. "I think that Jace will probably head back to talk to Will at some point, because there was an omega who killed someone and then disappeared."

"I'm glad they don't live close by," Lydia blinked, her eyebrows pulling together.

"Jace already had Alec, Jem and Max go out and check the boundary yesterday, and you know he'll be going out again today to make sure. But he doesn't seem on edge or anything, so I'm assuming they didn't pick up on anything," Clary replied. Lydia nodded, looking a little more relaxed at that, knowing that Jace would be on the edge the second he thought that something was wrong. "Anyway, I just want to look after our babies and have everything get back to normal."

"Honey," Lydia rolled her eyes and smiled as her eyes honed in on a little boy who looked like he was about start eating sand out the big double doors that were open. "Your life is never normal." The little boy was most _definitely_ going to start eating sand and Lydia made a face. "We'll catch up later, yeah?"

"Yeah," Clary flashed a smile before Lydia ran toward the sandpit.

 _I haven't really watched any movies since I last updated, but I've been binging this TV show called_ Bitten _, recommended by the lovely reppinda5o3, who has now moved on from recommending fics to TV shows! I'd be lost without her. It's not award winning or anything, but I really wanted another werewolf show to watch, and so it definitely scratched that itch. If that's the sort of thing you're into, definitely check it out if you haven't already._

 _On the music side of things, I've had_ Crying in the Club _by Camila Cabello on repeat for, like, the past week. I fucking loooooove it. I was never a fan of Fifth Harmony, but I absolutely adore this song. Also_ Power of Love _by Gabrielle Aplin, which I heard ages ago, but then I heard it on something recently and put it back on my phone and have just had it playing everyday on the way to and from work. It's just...It's just so pretty and makes my heart ache just a little._

 _Also on the subject of music, the One Love Manchester concert that Ariana Grande got together...All of those artists coming together and so quickly after the horrible event was beautiful. My heart went out to Ariana, she was really having a hard time holding it together. And Miley Cyrus was a beautiful human, as per usual. A lot of people are trying to drag the event through the mud, saying that worse things happen all the time, saying that she is just doing it for attention...Come on, just accept a nice, good thing. Our world is full of shit, horrible things, we have to love and accept the good when it comes along xx_

 _Anyway! Please make sure you leave a few words, let me know what you guys thought of the chapter. Just a couple of words make the hard work worth it! And make sure to let me know if you want a preview xx_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey, guys! A little bit of a lengthy AN here, sorry. So, as we all know, real life unfortunately has to come first, even if I would love to just binge watch my favourite shows, with my kitties and my hubby, and type away all day. Anyway, I've gotten a new job, which I start in a few weeks time, and the hours are a lot better than the one I'm doing now, but it will take some adjusting to, and learning all new stuff, which means my brain will be a little fried at the end of the day. Also, there's some problems with my husband and his job, and recently a friend's younger brother committed suicide, which has caused a few stresses with my group of friends._

 _Bottom line is that my updating is going to be changing a little, just for the next few months, hopefully, until everything has evened back out again. So any stories that are on my regular updating schedule will be getting updated once a month, and any that aren't on the regular schedule, well, they'll be updated every few months._

 _Sorry about this guys, but that's just the way life goes some time. I appreciate your understanding and love xx_

"What are you doing here, Max?" Clary said as she stepped through the front door of her apartment, knocking it shut with her elbow behind her.

"Are you sure you're not a wolf?" Came an indignant cry from the lounge, and Clary laughed as she kicked off her shoes and dropped her handbag on the kitchen table as she walked toward the voice. "Seriously, how did you even know that I was here?"

"A girls gotta have some secrets," Clary grinned as she saw the boy stretched out on her couch, his shoes on the ground and his hands tucked behind his head. She noted that he was wearing a hoodie that originally belonged to Jace but that she had had in her possession for a while, so he was surrounding himself with scents of both his Alpha and her. "Don't tell me you've been here all day. You already missed a few days of school, you better have gone today or I'm gonna do worse than tell your parents, I'm gonna tell your Alpha, and he'll kick your ass." Max stuck out his lower lip in a pout.

"I haven't been here _all_ day," he began.

"Okay, so at what point did you skip out?" Clary dropped onto the couch beside his feet. Max moved into a seated position and shuffled over close to her, his arms rubbing against hers.

"After lunch," Max admitted, sounding like a little boy admitting to stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. Clary shook her head as she put her arm around his shoulders, pulling her against his side. Max instantly nuzzled against her, ducking his head and breathing in her familiar, comforting scent.

"What's going on?" She asked softly. Max was quiet for a long moment, and Clary stayed quiet with him. Clary lifted her hand to card her fingers through his hair, and she heard him sigh against her shoulder.

"It's making my head ache," Max mumbled. Clary frowned, and then looked over toward the dining room. There was a calender on the wall, and on the calender was marked that there was a full moon a few days away. Usually Max was good with handling his heightened senses, although he had been away from non-pack members for almost five days which meant his senses had become dulled with the familiarity of his pack, and then he was thrown back into school, surrounded by thousands of different scents and a mess of hormonal teenagers. It was hard for him, after being _just_ with pack, and then being back in school, especially just before a full moon.

"Okay, understandable," Clary nodded, continuing to stroke his hair. "But you need to talk to Jace about this, he's the one that can help you control it." Max made a snuffling noise under his breath and Clary sighed. "What are you doing here, babe? Why didn't you go home?"

"Jace and Alec had an argument this morning, and the whole place stinks and the tension is off the charts," Max replied. By 'stinks' he would be referring to the angry and bitter chemosignals that the were's could pick up on. Clary was glad she didn't have their highly tuned senses, because sometimes even she would swear that she could smell tensions running high between them all.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Clary offered. "But if you do, you have to go to school tomorrow—and I mean the _whole_ day. Or if you can't do the whole day, you have to tell Jace." Max lifted his head and nodded, his eyes flashing gold momentarily in appreciation. Clary smiled and kissed his forehead. "You're still going to have to tell Jace that you're here, or else he's going to wonder why you're not home." Max nodded again and Clary smiled at him. "Okay, I'm going to cook dinner. You want lasagna or chicken?"

It was a comfortable night in, it wasn't unusual for some of the pack to show up at Clary's house. Jem had teased her on a couple of occasions that she was like the 'pack mum', which Clary narrowed her eyes at and said that she was far too young to be. She was a source of comfort, and she was more than happy to be that person for the people that she viewed as closer than family, as pack. She made the sixteen year old go to bed at the same time as her, at ten, and said that if he got up to watch TV in the middle of the night then she would know, and wouldn't let him crash at her place again during the week.

Max listened, and he went to bed in the spare room next to Clary's. He did end up getting up part way through the night, but it was to climb in bed with Clary. She was sleepily aware of him slipping between her covers, and pulling one of her pillows between his arms and shoving his nose into it. He gave her space, sleeping on the other side of the bed, but just wanting to be close to her.

* * *

"Max's school called yesterday," Jace stated, his voice low as he walked up behind Clary. "He left after lunch and didn't come back."

"Interesting," Clary commented as she dropped to her knees and held out her arms to a Cassandra Davis, a three year old with big hazel eyes and brown hair that fell down her back. "Are you ready for nap time, baby cakes?" Cassie looked like maybe she was going to disagree with that, her face beginning to crumble. "And while you're getting ready to sleep, Helen is going to read stories to you. Sound fun?"

"I thought you weren't meant to compromise with them?" Jace noted with a raise of his eyebrow and Clary rolled her eyes over her shoulder at him as Cassie nodded and lifted up her arms for Clary to pick her up.

"Everyone's down for a little compromise when it comes to nap time," Clary responded. "Now, wait here. We need to take Cassie here—" Clary jiggled Cassie on her hip, who gave a sleepy smile, her eyes already beginning to droop. "Into the nap room, and then you and I can continue this lovely conversation." Jace narrowed his eyes at her, but stayed in the main room while Clary continued down the hallway. Helen and Lydia were in the big nap room, where the windows were open but the curtains were closed, and the cots were tidily lined up. A lot of the other children were already in their cots, some of them asleep, some of them following Helen's voice as she walked around the room, reading from a big, colourful book, her free hand resting on her rounded stomach. "You comfy?" Clary whispered to Cassie, who was snuggling down with the pink bunny rabbit her mother brought it in every morning with her because it was the only thing she would go to sleep with.

"I'll go out and watch the kids with Marly," Lydia said as she and Clary left the room. "You sort out things out with Jace." Clary nodded as they went back out to the main room. One of the part time girls was beginning the clean up, and Lydia continued through the back doors to where about ten or so kids who didn't have afternoon naps who were playing on the jungle gym outside. Jace wasn't in the play area, and Clary checked in on the kitchen, her face softening when she saw that he was beginning to fill their dishwasher.

"Thanks," she gave him a small smile as she joined him. There was a pile of dishes on the benches from lunch, which was always the worst part of Clary's day. She joined him, and they worked in silence as they rinsed down the plates and utensils and stocked the dishwasher. When they turned it on, Clary began running water in the sink to hand wash the remaining dishes.

"I can smell him all over you," Jace said shortly as he came up close behind her. Clary had long ago learnt that werewolves really had no respect for personal space, and as the years had gone by, she had found herself turning into quite a tactile person. Not to say that she didn't enjoy touch before, but it was definitely moreso now. "Is he at school today?"

"As far as I know," Clary replied, ignoring the slight warm prickle that spread over her skin as Jace leaned in close to her, his nose bumping against the back of her neck, his breath warm.

"Is it the full moon?" Jace asked softly.

"That's what he told me," Clary responded as she turned off the tap and turned around to look at Jace, forcing him to take a step back and put some breathing space between them. "He was just having a hard time. He's a sixteen year old kid, which is crappy enough, but with everything that's going on, he just said it was getting a bit much."

"And he came to you?" Jace's face was expressionless. "He text me last night to say he was staying with you, but at the time I didn't know that he must have been there throughout the day as well." She shrugged. Jace pursed his lips and then gave her a hint of what looked like it could be a smile. "Thank you."

"Hey, looking after wayward werewolves is a specialty of mine," Clary teased, reaching out to punch him lightly in the shoulder. Jace's lips twitched upwards, more of a smile now, and he shook his head.

"They love you," he murmured. "And they trust you." Clary felt her stomach tighten and the intense look in his golden eyes, and she dropped her eyes. Jace reached out, two of his fingers brushing against her cheek before they dipped underneath her chin and lifting her face to look directly at him. "Thank you," he repeated.

"They're my pack," Clary's voice hitched slightly. "That's what we do, right?" Jace's eyes and face were all soft as he smiled and leaned forward and pressed his kiss against her cheek, low so that it was almost against the corner of mouth.

"I'll see you tonight?" Jace phrased it as a question even though he already knew the answer. Friday nights were always pack nights out at the Herondale mansion, usually consisting of movies, a ton of junk food, and then the were's disappearing into the forest to run until they were tired and ready to collapse. Especially when it was a full moon tomorrow and they would have pent up energy that they needed to burn off.

"You know that I'll be there," Clary replied. "And don't be too hard on Max, or I'm gonna come after you for hurting my boy."

"You telling me how to treat my beta's?" Jace quirked an eyebrow at her, Clary staring back at him defiantly, not backing down.

"And if I am?" She retorted, although there wasn't any heat in her words. Jace parted his lips, looking as though he was going to say something, but then he pressed his lips together and just rolled his eyes.

"I'll see you tonight," he said, reaching out one last time to touch the curve of her neck, giving it a slight squeeze before turning around and leaving. Clary watched him go, putting her fingers to the junction between her shoulder and her neck, where he had just touched her. Not for the first time, she idly wondered that if she was a werewolf with their enhanced senses, what Jace smelt like when he was around her. She had heard Simon and Alec and Isabelle all saying that when they were around the people they loved, there was this sweet, warm smell that settled their inner wolf and made them think _home_.

She was no wolf, but she knew that was how _she_ felt, and sometimes she wondered if Jace felt the same.

 _The songs I would recommend this time around are_ The Other Side _by Ruelle,_ Unpredictable _by Olly Murs and_ Professional Rapper _by Little Dicky—watch the video for this one as well! I've got tickets to go see the new Spiderman movie this Friday! Pretty psyched about it. And on the subject of Zendaya, have you guys seen the trailer for_ The Greatest Showman _? Holy shit, she looks fucking gorgeous in it, the whole trailer does, really. Even by hubby thinks it looks amazing._

 _Let me know what you guys think of the chapter, and feel free to recommend songs or any fics :) xx_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hi, my pretties! Updating only once a month feels so weird, I feel like it's been half a year since I've updated! But my life is starting to even out again, and so maybe next month or the one after I'll be able to go back to two monthly updates :) Now, something that I wanted to say, was that I've written up summaries for all the new stories that I'm working on, and I've put them up on my profile. So go check them out and let me know what you think of them! I'm always happy to talk about new stories if you guys have any questions or want to talk :)_

The pack night went just like it usually did.

There was fighting between Simon, Max and Jordan over what movie they were going to watch, Jem and Alec wrestled over the comfy arm chair that they all knew Jace was going to kick people off because he always sat in it, and Isabelle burnt the dessert. Clary settled in the bean bag that she always sat in, between the arm chair and the couch, with Sammy sitting on her lap, a bottle clutched in her hands. The little girl had been playing with Maia, Alec and Simon most of the afternoon, her tiny fangs on display and her eyes flashing playfully, and she was most definitely ready to go to bed for the night.

"You looking forward to the full moon tomorrow, my darling girl?" Clary hummed against the girls soft, curly hair. Sammy popped the teat out of her mouth and tipped her head backwards, giving Clary a gummy, milky smile before shoving the bottle back in her mouth. Clary wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on around her, the whole room loud and rowdy while everyone got ready to settle down. Jace didn't say much either, he had glared at both Jem and Alec, who had grumbled under their breath and got off the La-Z-Boy, letting Jace sit there, and he had let one of his arms hand over the side of the arm chair, falling against Clary's shoulder and resting there.

"But I want to watch _Iron Man_!" Simon complained.

"I've already watched _Iron Man_ ten times more than I every wanted to," Isabelle shot back as she dragged a mattress into the centre of the room, in front of the couch.

"You've only seen it ten times," Simon argued.

"Exactly," Isabelle growled as she flopped down on the mattress, pulling a blanket over her. Simon continued to argue for _Iron Man_ , but Jordan had commandeered the remote and had scrolled right over it on the hard drive that they had plugged in.

"What about _Batman_?" Jem suggested.

"Ooh, the second one!" Maia piped up. "I'm always down for _The Dark Knight_." There were murmurs of agreement, Clary still not paying attention until Jace tapped her on the shoulder and raised his eyebrows in a question.

"Hit me with some Heath Ledger," Magnus smirked. "That beautiful, beautiful man."

"Sounds good," Clary agreed, Max and Simon now looking at her expectantly. That seemed to settle it, and Jordan turned the movie on. They had all eaten dinner before starting the movie, because whenever they were all there and ate in the lounge, the place would look like an absolute pigsty, given how much the werewolves ate. There were bags of chips being passed around and a cardboard box with donuts, and Clary knew that there was _still_ going to be a mess to clean up.

The lights were all turned off, and the movie started. This was Clary's favourite out of the _Batman_ trilogy, and she had lost count of the amount of times she had seen it, so she wasn't too focused on the screen, more on the little girl in her arms. Sammy finished off her bottle and Clary put it on the ground, rearranging the baby cub in her arms. Sammy buried her nose in Clary's shirt, folding her fingers in Clary's long hair that was falling over her shoulders, breathing in the scent of _pack_ and _home_ that Clary knew she carried. It didn't take her long before Sammy fell off to sleep, and Clary traced her fingers over the little girls cheeks and chin.

Sammy was pretty much the child of everyone in the pack. Clary only had a few friends who had children, and Jocelyn had friends who had babies that she used to see when she was younger, and even though the mothers and fathers always had support systems, it was nothing like the one that Sammy, Maia and Jordan had. Sammy was pretty much the most important person in the entire room, she even turned the big, bag Alpha to goo when she blinked her big, brown eyes up at him, curling her fingers into claws. It was another one of the reasons why Clary was glad that she had been brought into this world, into this pack.

As if knowing what she was thinking, Jace hand on her shoulder tightened and then shifted. He slid it underneath her long hair, carefully extracting it from Sammy's sleepy grip, and then cupping her neck. Clary let him, leaning into his touch. An Alpha's hand around the back of one of his werewolves neck was a move that was meant to be grounding, comforting. Clary wasn't a werewolf, but that touch had become invaluable to her, even if it didn't affect her quite in the same way. His fingers traced up and down the side neck, lightly playing with her hair, and Clary let out a slight hum of contentment as she leaned against the side of his arm chair, her grip around Sammy tightening to make sure the girl was safe and secure against her body.

After the movie, Maia took Sammy down to the other end of the house and tucked her into her cot. Usually on pack nights they would all sleep together, but given it was a full moon tomorrow, and they would all be puppy piling in a mess after they finished their run in the woods, so they would be going back to their own rooms tonight.

There was another argument over the next movie, but Clary wasn't paying too much attention again, but this time it was because she was almost asleep. Jace's fingers were massaging her scalp, and halfway through the movie, Jem had shifted over to lay his head on her lap and Max had rolled over so that he could lean against her legs. She was warm, surrounded by the people she loved, and so when a fight broke out over whether they were going to be putting _Fight Club_ or _Titanic_ on, she didn't have any input.

"Clary," Max was whispering and shaking her arm slightly. "Clary!" She blinked and opened her arms, seeing that the TV screen was now dark, and people were moving around her in the dark, light only coming from the stars and moon through the windows.

"I'm awake," she mumbled out and she saw a flash of teeth as he smiled at her.

"You're getting old," Max teased her. Clary narrowed her eyes at him and lazily pulled the fingers. Simon and Max both laughed, and Simon reached out a hand, helping her to her feet.

"C'mon, girl," Jace murmured, putting one hand underneath her elbow and steadying her on her feet.

"I can walk," Clary protested tiredly as she tugged her arm away. Isabelle and Simon were heading upstairs to their bedroom on the third floor, Jem and Max were doing the same thing, their rooms on the second floor, and Maia and Jordan were walking toward the back of the house. Originally their bedroom had been on the second floor, but after having Sammy, they relocated to one of the spare bedrooms downstairs, not wanting to trek up and down the stairs in the middle of the night when Sammy woke up. Alec and Magnus were up on the third floor as well, down the opposite end from Isabelle and Simon.

Apparently the Herondale home used to be a whole lot larger than this, when Jace's parents were alive, before the house had been burnt practically to the ground. Jace and his pack had rebuilt the home from the ground up, using as much of the original structure as possible. All of this was before Clary and Simon had come along. Clary remembers driving past the house when her and Simon were exploring the township and wondering just how many people lived in the house. The house was built big and spacious to make room for pack and their families, and also for visiting packs when they stayed.

Jace had literally built a home for his pack, somewhere for them to be safe and loved, and Clary couldn't stop the stupid smile on her face everytime she thought of that.

"You're tired," Jace stated, his voice low as he walked after Clary. The spare room that she stayed in was on the second floor, opposite Jace's room. "Are you sleeping okay?"

"I'm fine," Clary answered, rubbing her eyes. "It's just been a long week, you know?" She sighed as she walked down toward the end of the hall. She hoped that downstairs where Maia and Jordan's was, the door would be shut. As much as she loved Sammy, she just wanted to sleep through the night, without any interruptions from crying babies. Another plus side to Jace rebuilding the house was he made sure each of the bedrooms were sound proof. Clary remembered living in the tiny apartment with Simon, and even with their human hearing at the time, they could hear one another through the wall. Clary could only imagine just how awkward things could get between the were's if they heard one another at night.

"Was it Helen who fixed your shoulder?" Jace asked as they stopped by the door for the spare room, which should really just be called Clary's room. She had spare clothes in there, a couple of photographs and books, and other things that had just slowly migrated from her home.

"Yeah," Clary admitted as she leaned against the door frame and looked up at Jace.

"Well, at least you let someone help you," Jace muttered and Clary rolled her eyes up at him, looking up at the Alpha through her eyelashes.

"I don't need to rely on you anymore than I already do," she mumbled. Jace frowned, she could see his expression even in the dark hallway. Jace's eyes glowed slightly, just a faint crimson colour, and he reached out to rest his hand on her hip.

"You don't rely on me _enough_ ," he murmured, his voice quiet. "And even if you did, that's what I'm here for. I'm here to look after you." Clary's heart started beating a little faster at that, and Jace's fingers tightened at her hip, obviously able to hear the increase in her heart rate. His face was only a couple of inches away from her own, and she could see his eyes burning a little brighter. "You're more breakable than the rest of us, and I need to make sure you're always okay." Clary couldn't stop herself from letting out a shaky breath at the intensity of his words, and the way that he was staring at her, and she looked down.

The exhale seemed to break the moment, and Jace dropped his hand from her hip, leaning forward to press a soft kiss against her forehead.

"Get some sleep," he whispered. "I'll see you tomorrow."

 _Sooooo...I saw_ The Hitmans Bodyguard _last weekend with the man and a few friends, and it was fucking hilarious. I definitely recommend. Another movie I watched a week or so ago was_ Below Her Mouth _. It was on Netflix and yeah, okay, it's about 80% sex scenes, but I absolutely fucking loved it. Erika Linder is just...Holy shit, she is fucking beautiful. So both of these, I recommend! One that I'm a little iffy on is_ Friends From College _. My husband and I watched it all in the space of one weekend. The cast was incredible, they're all good actors and they all had so much chemistry with each other—Felix was my absolute favourite—but I felt so, so, so angry at the end. I won't explain it on here because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but shit I was angry at the end!_

 _Now, song wise...Lili Reinhart's cover of_ Wicked Games _. Holy shit. It's absolutely beautiful, and I have played it so many times on Youtube, it's insane. The other songs I've had on repeat recently are_ Havana _by Camilla Cabello,_ Fight Like A Girl _by Zolita and_ Bird _by Billie Marten. I've also put some of my old songs on my phone to play at work, and so I've been listening to Flyleaf—my favourite by them is_ Marionette _._

 _Also, has anyone listened to the song_ 1-800-273-8255 _by Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid? It's absolutely heart breaking and completely beautiful. Their performance at the VMA's had me all tearing up. Holy shit._

 _As usual—recommend songs, movies, fics in the_ Riverdale _,_ Teen Wolf _and_ Mortal Instruments _categories! Sometimes I do take a while to get around to all your recs, but I do get there! And don't forget to check out the summaries on my profile, and let me know what you think!_

 _Pleeeease leave a review, my beauties! They make me super happy, and I've got a preview for anyone who wants one :) xx_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey guys! So I'm back with a new chapter. Now...There is good and bad news. The good news is—this is the second update in the month! Yay! The bad news is...This is my last update of the year. I always go on a bit of a break over Christmas time, and I know that this is a bit earlier than my usual time, but I've got a lot going on in my life right now, and I just think that now is the best time._

 _However, I promise I will be back with more frequent next years! And also, if you guys have prompts or songs that you want me to work into a oneshot, send them through—as a thank you for sticking with me and a sorry for a bit of an extended break. Obviously I won't be able to do all of the requests, due to time restraints and also simply because sometimes an idea or song just doesn't resonate with me, but I will try my hardest! The ship/characters for the fic don't have to be limited to this fandom, you can check out my profile for other fandoms and ships that I love!_

 _Also, I've got the first chapter of four new stories up, so go check them out :)_

Clary would have slept in the next morning, except Isabelle and Jem jumped on her bed in the morning, bouncing up and down and shaking her awake, and were soon joined by Max. Jace stopped by, looking through the doorway at the four of them in the bed, Max pulling at his sisters hair and Jem trying to get under the covers with Clary, demanding that she be 'big spoon'. They were like a bunch of kids, Clary rolling her eyes and letting them under duvet even though it meant she was squished in the middle.

Simon came to the second storey, wearing a pair of sweatpants and rubbing his eyes, grinning at the group of people through the bed past Jace before continuing down the hall. Jace felt his heart swelling in his chest, and then quickly controlled his emotions as Isabelle's head jerked in his direction, obviously picking up on her Alpha's feelings. He dragged his fingers through his hair and followed after Simon, his the wooden floors cool under his bare feet.

"You guys are fat and annoying," Clary grumbled under her breath as she tried to get back into the same comfortable position that she had been in before.

"No, we're not," Isabelle sung out as she slung a leg around Clary's waist and buried her face in Clary's neck. "We're in peak physical condition." Clary rolled her eyes at the comment, smothering her smile in the pillow.

"And you fucking love us," Max added.

"Why are you guys even bothering me? Isn't Jace making breakfast by now?" Clary asked with a raise of her eyebrows. Jem lifted his head, sniffing the air and scrunching up his nose.

"He's only just started," Jem reported. "Which means if we go down now, we'll get roped into helping him cook."

"Lazy bastards," Clary mumbled fondly. Max tickled her side under the blankets and she lashed out a foot in his direction before letting out a sigh of resignation, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to get back sleep.

It was a sunny day, which meant most of it spent outside. The werewolves had more energy than usual when it was coming up to a full moon, even little Sammy feeling the pull of her inner wolf. She was running around the back yard on her chubby, slightly unsteady legs, giggling as she chased after the older ones in her pack. Clary joined in, letting Sammy catch her and rolling over onto her stomach, tossing the little girl into the air. Sometimes during the full moon, Wills pack would join them or Julian Blackthorns, but it was going to be just them this time around.

Simon and Alec were wrestling, and getting pretty aggressive about it as well, but Clary had learnt a long time ago that even if they fought bloody, they healed almost instantly. It didn't mean she liked to watch them fight, but there was definitely something attractive about watching hot, shirtless men tangle together against a backdrop of leafy forest. When Jace joined in with the rest of his pack, Clary had to fan herself, feeling her cheeks heating up.

"Oh, _God,_ yes," Magnus hummed out from his spot next to Clary, and the girl giggled. Every now and then, Magnus would wiggle his fingers and shoot out a couple of sparks in the were's directions, not enough to hurt them, but enough to make them jump and glare playfully in his direction.

"I am most definitely not into men, yet that is one hell of a view," came a voice from behind Clary, and she turned around to see Aline Blackthorn-Penhallow standing there, grinning widely, her wife beside her.

"Hey!" Clary smiled up at them, pointing over to a couple of deck chairs next to her. "Sit down, enjoy the view." Aline waited for Helen to sit down before taking a seat on the other side, Magnus shuffling over to give the two woman some space.

"Oh, I most definitely will," Helen cooed as she slid her sunglasses over her eyes and rested her head backwards against the headrest.

"Pregnancy hormones," Aline noted with a snort. "She seems to completely have forgotten her sexuality is meant to be Aline-centric these days. It's just sex, sex, sex."

"That's bullshit," Helen laughed as she reached over to tousle Aline's hair. "You know you're the only one I'm interested in." Clary smiled at the pair of them, the love between them practically pulsating in the air. The werewolves had said it a hundred times, that the air always smelt sugary and sweet, like complete love and devotion when the pair of them were together, and Clary could completely understand that. Helen was fae, however she had been brought up with werewolves. Her half brother, Julian, was a werewolf and when she moved into this township to be with Aline, she had been drawn to Jace's pack.

Aline, on the other hand, had been brought up a Hunter, by a family who hunted down supernatural creatures. Hunters used to be a whole lot more sadistic, going after any supernatural being and killing them. They lived by more of a code these days, only going after ones who hurt or hunted humans, and Aline's families were one of those Hunters, respected by others in the community. However, it was still unusual for a Hunter to end up with a fae, marrying into a family with werewolves. That was the reason that they had ended up moving away from both families, to get some space for themselves.

They were one of the most beautiful couples Clary had ever known.

"Afternoon, Helen, Aline," Jordan greeted the two woman as he came up the steps and kissed both woman on the cheek. "You ladies staying for the full moon?"

"Ooh, I don't have the energy that," Helen shook her head, breathing in deeply as she rested her hand on her rounded stomach, her fingers massaging it. "I just wanted to come out for a few hours." Jordan nodded and smiled, and a couple of the were's came over, Sammy bouncing around on Jace's shoulders, her arms wrapped around his neck like a little monkey. When she saw Helen, her eyes lit up, and she made grabby hands for the woman. Maia and Jordan had attempted to explain to her that it was a baby in Helen's stomach a few weeks ago, and Sammy was fascinated.

Maia and Isabelle were now fighting, moving at speeds that were to fast for Clary to properly follow. They were wearing tiny cut off shorts and sports bras and both of them were sweating heavily, blood streaking their skin. Every now and then there were awful sounding cracks and shouts from one of them, but Clary was used to it by this point.

Jace dropped to the deck beside Clary, shirtless and sweating, only wearing a pair of shorts, and she bit her lip to stop herself from reaching out and touching his hair or trailing her fingers down his spine. He seemed to sense her hesitation, because he glanced over his shoulder at her, giving her a small, knowing smile, before looking back out over the backyard, watching his beta's tussle.

Helen and Aline left a few hours later, and the were's all started making dinner. It was a barbeque outside, all of the werewolves in states of undress as they ate. Max and Simon, the youngest ones in the pack other than Sammy, were practically vibrating out of their skin as night fell and the moon starting rising. Clary smiled from where she was sitting on the decking of the balcony and looked over at Sammy, who was running around the balcony on her pudgy legs, claws extending from her fingers and toes, her tiny fangs dropped from her jaw and her eyes glowing gold.

"Everyone ready?" Jace grunted as he glanced around his pack. Clary tucked her hands into her pockets as she watched the werewolves shift. Their eyes all glowed, their fangs dropped, and claws protruded from their fingers and toes. People who weren't used to their shifted faces would be scared, and Clary had to admit that the first few times that she had seen them, she had been frightened.

But now, it was a dangerous kind of beautiful.

Especially Jace.

Jace was the most dangerous, and the most beautiful, of them all.

The Alpha let out a howl and the werewolves took off so quickly there were whips of air that shot past Clary, Magnus and Jordan. Jordan let out a laugh, looking at Clary and Magnus one last time before he started running as well. Magnus grinned, reaching out a hand for Clary, and the two of them following after the pack.

They couldn't run as fast, and they definitely couldn't run for as long, but the three non-werewolves still participated in the moon run.

Somewhere along the way, Clary and Magnus let each others hands go, and Clary ran until it felt like her legs were going to give way underneath her. She caught a glimpse of Maia at one point, and a flash of red eyes that she knew to be Jace's, and Simon ran alongside her for a while, bumping his hip against hers and laughing playfully. Clary reached a creek that ran down the middle of the forest and she came to a stop, breathing heavily. She leaned down and dipped her hands into the icy water, splashing it onto her face.

She wasn't sure how long she had been running for, but her whole body was shaking and there was sweat dripping down her face. The werewolves would keep running until all hours of the night, probably into the morning, but it was time for her to turn around and make her way home.

"Done already?" Jace's voice was light and teasing, sounding so much more free than he usually did, speaking out from somewhere in the trees around her. "I might need to get some more training in." He always sounded different when he was running in a full moon, fully shifted, drawing on the power and the free flowing emotions of his pack. He sounded younger.

"Not all of us have superhuman powers!" Clary yelled out into the night, not sure where to direct her comment since all she was hearing was some rustling around her and a few 'whooshs' of air.

"No excuse!" Came the response and Clary snorted, shaking her head, getting ready to start jogging back in the direction of the house when there was the crack of branches to her left and then Jace came surging out of the woods and lunged at her. Clary let out a noise that was sort of a cross between a squeal and a giggle as Jace wrapped his arms around her and they were tumbling to the ground. Jace twisted his body so that he took the brunt of the fall, making sure that she was safe and landed on his chest, his arms looped around her torso.

"I heard you coming," Clary grinned down at him. "You're getting clumsy." His eyes were burning scarlet, his fangs were protruding, dropping from his gums, and there was more hair on his face than usual, coarser tufts. Clary smiled down at him, and from what she could tell, Jace was smiling back at her even though it was a little hard to tell. She shook her head, leaning down and nuzzling her nose against Jace's.

Almost impossibly, it seemed as though his eyes became a brighter red at the movement, and the werewolf reached upward, burying his neck in the curve of her neck and breathing in deeply. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt his claws curl gently against her back. She felt the brush of his fangs against her skin as he scented her, rubbing his arms up and down her back. They were still for a long few moments, before there was a loud whoop in front of them and Max came hurtling in their direction. Clary just had enough time to roll off Jace before Max leapt on his Alpha, the pair of them rolling around, snapping their jaws playfully at each other, and then disappearing off into the woods.

Clary lay on the ground a few minutes later, smiling after her boys before getting to her feet and jogging back home.

 _Alright! So, my recommendations this time...Songwise, the ones I've had on repeat are;_ Somebody New _, by Cedric Gervais. Fucking loooove it, my husband hates it, but I play it loud as hell when I'm the only one in the car. Haha._ First Time _by Kygo and Ellie Goulding, this one is cute and sweet, makes me think back to being a teenager. Then there's_ Easy _by Sky Ferreira, which is just beautiful, from the movie_ Baby Driver _, and the last one is_ Too Much To Ask _by Niall Horan, which is just so pretty._

 _Movie wise, I've recently seen_ Kingsmen 2 _, which was fucking great, although my favourite character...*quietly sobs in corner*. Also_ It _, which was great as well, the kids were all so fucking brilliant in that movie, and I have to admit, I ship Reddie. I think they're absolutely adorable. Bill Skarsgard did an amazing job. And then tomorrow, I'll be seeing_ Thor: Ragnorok _! It looks amazing, so fingers crossed._

 _And then in the TV show area, I've just started watching_ The Gifted _, which is pretty good so far. Also binged the second season of_ Shooter _, which I've really enjoyed, and I hope that there's more! Another one is_ Wynonna Earp, _which took me a while to get into, but I love it now. Wynonna and Waverly are just fucking amazing. And then there's just the general shows that I've been keeping up with, like_ How To Get Away With Murder, Gotham _and_ NCIS: Los Angeles _, all of which are great._

 _So! Let me know what you guys think of the chapter, let me know if you guys have any prompts or songs you want me to write about (any of the fandoms I'm in, check my profile, and keep in mind I will try to write them, but can't guarantee all of them) and absolutely recommend any songs, movies, tv shows or fics to me!_

 _There's a preview of the next chapter for a review... xxx_


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm back! We're 2018! It does_ not _feel like it at all. Haha. It still feels like 2017. Anyway, I hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Years, fun but safe (even though that make me sounds like a mum). Mine started well and then I had a bit of an accident which is taking a while to recover from, but we'll get there. And I hope that the first month of 2018 has been great! I've got a few concerts coming up which I'm psyched about—Ed Sheeran, Pink and Halsey, so that's awesome._

 _Now, my official updating schedule is kicking off from February, this update is just to get all my stories updated and get my oneshots posted. Check out my profile for the schedule. There are a variety of oneshots posted in quite a few categories, so make sure you check them out, along with my profile for the updating schedule going forward!_

Clary blinked a couple of times as she slowly woke up, smushed between Jace and Isabelle. Both wolves were curled around her, Jace's face buried in her neck and Isabelle against her shoulder. She shifted carefully, knowing that her feet were likely pressed up against someone else, and when she lifted her head, she saw that Max had his head resting against her legs. She felt a little sticky, but there was a breeze coming from the open window to her right, and she let her eyes close again. She was only wearing a pair of plain underwear and a singlet, and the cool breeze felt good against her bare skin.

The were's around her were almost all fitted onto the two mattresses that were laid out on the lounge floor. Jace was the closest to the front door, as per usual, wearing just a pair of low slung sweatpants, then there was Clary, and Isabelle on her other side in similar clothing to Clary's, underwear and a tee-shirt. Max was sort of curled at the bottom of the mattress, his head wedged against Clary's legs and his arms splayed out toward his sister. Simon, Magnus, Alec and Jem were on the other mattress, while Maia and Jordan were on the couch which was alongside the mattresses and near the cot where Sammy was.

Sammy was making little snuffling noises in her cot, one side lowered so that she could still be exposed to the pack. With the way Maia was laying on the couch she was pressed up against the side of the cot, and Alec had one of his hands resting against Sammy's feet. As soon the little girl woke up, Maia would be wide awake, but even Sammy tended to sleep in the morning after a full moon, her little body tired.

Isabelle turned over, making Simon mumble in annoyance on her other side, and the whole puppy pile shifted a little as her movement was a catalyst for everyone else. For a moment, Clary thought that someone else was going to wake up. But then Isabelle and Simon settled down, and Magnus, who was stretched out at the end of the mattress with his head resting on Alec's lap, made himself comfortable once more on the other side of Simon and there seemed to be a sigh of contentment. Clary wiggled around slightly, trying to make herself comfortable with the change of position, and then she heard a grumble from Jace behind her, and it made her body jerk in response.

"Go back to sleep," Jace's voice was barely louder than a rasp, and she shivered as she felt his breath against the back of her neck, his lips moving against her skin. He tightened his arms around her waist, and Clary dropped her head back to the pillow, Isabelle making a pleased noise as she cuddled back up to her side. Jace's hand skimmed over her hip, his fingers curling as he shifted his hand to rest over her stomach, his thumb brushing against her comfortingly. Clary was back to sleep in seconds.

* * *

"It's almost as though you don't have a home," Clary lifted her eyebrows to where Isabelle was lounging on her bed, flipping through a magazine. Magnus and Jem were sitting on the floor, Magnus filing his nails while Jem was tapping away on his phone. She had finished work two hours ago, and had gone to the gym rather than coming straight home. She had worked out by herself for half an hour, and then had a rather brutal boxing lesson with one of the personal trainers. The werewolves, especially Jace, kept her fighting up to bar and made sure that she was in the best possible shape to defend herself from the supernatural, but Clary felt as though she could never be prepared enough. Hence the boxing lessons with the occasional afternoon out at the gun range.

"There's crazy tension back at our place," Isabelle replied idly.

"Is that whatever is going on between Jace and Alec?" Clary questioned. Magnus nodded his head while Isabelle and Jem exchanged a look. "Max mentioned that the other week."

"They're arguing about Will and the omega," Isabelle stated.

"Still?" Clary frowned.

"Alec thinks that Will was too lax in just making sure the omega was at the edge of their territory," Jem said as he put his phone on the ground and leaned his head back against the edge of the mattress. "And Jace doesn't want to talk about it, says that we shouldn't be getting too involved in another pack's business." Clary's eyebrows lifted in surprise at Jace's opinion on the matter. "But the thing is, Jace has been going out twice a day to patrol our boundaries."

"That sounds like he's worried about something," Clary mused.

"And he made me check all my wards," Magnus added with a sniff. "As if I've ever let you all down with my magic."

"So Alec's pissed because he knows that Jace is keeping something from us, and specifically from _him_ , and it's making it awkward as shit to be around them," Isabelle concluded. "Which is why we're here."

"This is why you need your own homes," Clary grumbled under her breath as she shoved Isabelle's feet out of the way so that she could sit down on her bed, but they knew that there was no real bite to her words. There was no way Jace's pack was ever going to move out of the big home that he had built for them, surrounded by the warmth and scents of love of their pack. They tried on a regular basis to try and have Clary move in, even though she stayed there several nights a week and came out almost everyday, her scent entertwined with theirs already.

"I better head off," Magnus sighed as he got off the ground, swiping his hands over his slacks and looking at himself in the floor length mirror that hung behind Clary's wardrobe door. "I've got a house showing across town in about half an hour."

"Here ya go," Clary murmured as she picked up Magnus suit jacket where he had laid it across the bottom of her bed to stop it from crinkling, holding it out to him. "A bit late for a house showing isn't it?"

"They sound like a workaholic couple," Magnus made a face as he took the jacket from Clary and slipped it on, doing up two of the buttons. "They both work long hours, and they viewed getting off at this time as getting off early. But hey—that's fine by me. They're looking at buying one of those new, stupidly over priced condos on the other side of town, and if they view it as such a hassle to get time off work, maybe they'll just throw in an offer to get it out of the way. Bigger bonus for me!"

"We'll see you tonight," Jem said, still absorbed in his phone, and Magnus shot them all a feline-like grin, wiggling his fingers at the group, his eyes glowing a faint gold before he was heading out the door.

"Can you talk to Jace?" Isabelle asked abruptly, rolling over on the bed so that she was facing Clary. The red head lifted her eyebrows at the werewolf, who was giving her hopeful look. "He listens to you."

"He listens to you as well," Clary reasoned. "He's your Alpha, it's kind of built into his DNA to listen to you."

"Yeah, but you know he listens more to you," Jem piped up from where he was. "It's different with you because he lo—" there was a sub-vocal growl from Isabelle that made the younger werewolf cut off and change direction with his argument. "It'll sound better coming from you, and he won't just walk off in the middle of the conversation and ignore you if he doesn't want to answer your questions."

"You sure about that?" Clary raised an eyebrow.

"Come on," Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Most of the time he communicates with a bunch of grunts and growls, but he talks to you." Clary sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Come _on_ ," Isabelle was pouting now, nudging Clary in the side with her elbow. "You're our pack mummy, you have to look after us. That means looking after our mental well-being as well, and watching our Alpha and his second-in-command argue all the time is doing all sorts of bad things to our heads," she was now batting her eyelashes up at Clary and Jem had abandoned his phone to turn around and give Clary a hopeful look.

"You're pathetic—you both are," Clary grunted and Isabelle punched her fist in the air, taking that as a victory. "And I'm telling Jace that you're scared of him."

"We're not scared!" Jem protested.

"I'm not even a werewolf and I can tell that you're lying," Clary retorted as she got off her bed.

"Yeah, well..." Jem didn't have a response for that, so he crossed his arms over his chest. Clary pulled her shirt over her head and kicked off her leggings, putting the clothes in the washing basket in the corner of the room. She had had a quick shower after she had finished at the gym, and hadn't washed her hair and it was still damp and sweaty from her work out. It had taken her a while to adapt to how open the werewolves were with their bodies, stripping down to their underwear and walking around shirtless on a regular basis, but after a few months she had adapted. She had felt even more confident around them after Jace and the other were's had pushed her to start training with them, and her soft boy became a little harder with toned muscle.

"I'm gonna have a shower. If you two are staying for dinner, then start on it. Pork mince and vegetables are in the fridge, and pasta is in the cupboard," Clary stated. "Dinner was going to be stir fry." She really didn't need to phrase it as though they weren't going to stay, because she knew that they would. As soon as she walked out of her bedroom and toward her bathroom, she heard them moving around, walking to the kitchen. She smiled as she turned on the shower, listening to the pair of them squabble like little kids about who was going to cut up the vegetables.

 _Okay! Let me know what you guys thought! Let me know if you liked it, if you didn't, what your favourite part was, etc etc._

 _Alright, now I've got so many song and movie recommendations given the gap in updating, so I'll limit it down. Movie wise,_ The Last Jedi _and_ The Greatest Showman _are both absolutely incredibly. Especially_ TGS _. Holy shit, the songs and the costumes and the dances, they were all amazing. I don't even know what my favourite songs from it is..._ This Is Me, Rewrite The Stars, Never Enough, From Now On _...I just don't know! And TV series recommendations would be_ The Gifted, Black Lightning _and_ The Runaways.

 _Songwise,_ I'm Gonna Show You Crazy _by Bebe Rexha,_ Him and I _by Halsey and G-Eazy,_ Missing You _by Blake McGrath,_ Never Enough _from The Greatest Showman,_ My My My _by Troye Sivan,_ Dynasty _by MIIA and_ Phases _by French Montana._

 _Let me know what your own recommendations are! I note down all your song, TV series and movies suggestions so I can get around to them when I have time!_

 _Make sure you check out my other updates and let me know if you want a preview of the next chapter xx_


	9. Chapter 9

_Next chapteeeeer. Also, if you guys like the whole werewolf verse, I've got two other werewolf multi-fic stories going at the moment,_ Ache For Us _and_ A Touch Of Lightning. _Check them out :)_

Clary frowned as she jogged toward her house, noting the motorbike that was parked in her driveway. She looked down at the watch on her wrist and winced as she realized that she had been gone for longer than she had planned. On the plus side though, she had never had such good stamina in her life. Clearly, training with werewolves who reminded her every so often that one day she could be running for her life did wonders for her exercise regime. Jace had a strict training program for all of them, making them practice with each other a couple times a week, and while Clary didn't fight with them often, Jace and Magnus still always made her run through the motions.

She reached her front door and wasn't at all surprised to see that it was open. She kicked off her shoes and couldn't help but glance at the mirror hanging near the entrance way, glad that she had slowed down about ten minutes ago as a cool down. Her face was red and her freckles were standing out a little, but at least she wasn't sweating like a pig.

"I made you a smoothie," Jace told her as she came into the kitchen, where he was leaning forward with his elbows against the bench, flipping through a magazine, looking as though he belonged there.

"Thanks," Clary flashed him a smile as she pulled her earplugs out of her ears, turning off the music on her phone and putting it down on the kitchen bench. Jace reached over and pulled over the tall glass that he had poured the smoothie into and handed it to Clary. She picked up the glass and sipped it, feeling her stomach clench at how he had made it just the way she liked it.

Just another perfect thing about him.

Jace sent her a sideways look through a few strands of hair that had fallen in front of his face, and she guessed that her heart had probably sped up at the thought that had run through her head. Clary pretended not to see the look and kept on drinking the smoothie until half of it was gone. She put the glass down and wiped her hand across her mouth, tugging the hair tie out of her hair and shaking it out of the tight ponytail it had been in.

"Everything okay?" Jace's voice sounded rough as he turned around and looked at her, his eyes flickering down to the tiny pair of bike shorts that she was wearing before meeting her eyes again.

"Uh, yeah," Clary nodded, running her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, we're good." She saw his hand twitch at his side as she walked past him, toward the lounge, and he did that thing with his nose where he shifted his face to follow her, breathing in subtly. It wasn't something that she had noticed very much when she was first surrounded by werewolves, but by this point, she knew that it meant they were inhaling her scent. It happened a lot, especially with Jace and Simon. Not for the first time she wondered what she smelt like to them, and if she smelt different to Jace compared to the other werewolves.

"You okay?" Jace grunted as he followed after her and sat down on the coffee table itself, opposite the couch where she had sat down, their knees pressed together.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Clary had another sip of her smoothie before leaning forward and giving him a serious look. "I asked you to come over because there's something we need to talk about." Jace raised an eyebrow at her, and he tried to keep his expression blank, but she saw the nervousness spark in his eyes. She had learnt how to pick up on the smallest changes in facial expressions since being surrounded with were's, especially since they naturally had the upper hand of being able to scent the change in mood and hear the quicken of a heart beat. "You're hiding something," she stated, knowing that the blunt approach was the best way when it came to Jace. Jace didn't say anything but his frown deepened. "There's something going on with you and Alec and it's affecting the rest of the pack."

"Did they ask you to say something?" Jace's narrow eyes fixed on her. Clary pursed her lips and shrugged one of her shoulders. He looked annoyed and let out a frustrated huff as he stood up from the coffee table.

"Jace..." Clary murmured as she got up as well, putting down her glass and stepping after him. He was standing in front of the windows that looked out over her back yard, and she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, feeling the warm, rippling muscle underneath the jacket he was wearing. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing I want to talk about," Jace responded.

"That's not going to work with me, Jace," Clary said, her voice firm. She felt him stiffen under her touch at her disagreement. It wasn't that he wasn't used to his pack having a difference of opinion, that's what happened when you had a pack of strong opinionated people. But Clary knew that it was more to do with her being the one to disagree with him that was putting him on edge. "Jace, you might be able to tell the rest of your pack to fuck off and leave you alone, but you can't do that with me, you know that."

"I need you to keep it quiet," he began as he drew in a deep breath, shifting to turn around and face her. He leaned backwards against the window, bracing his hands on the window sill as he looked at Clary, his golden eyes intense. "Alec's not happy..."

"You can trust me, Jace, you know that," Clary murmured quietly, the hand that had been on his shoulder sliding around to rest on his chest, resting over his heart, which was beating steadily. She saw Jace swallow hard, and he moved his hand to lay over hers, linking their fingers together before continuing.

"There was a scent that Alec picked up on when he and Max were following after the hunters the other week," Jace said, his fingers tightening around hers. "And we've smelt it a couple of times before, so he told me about it when we got back to the hotel room, and the next morning we went back out there."

"What was it? The scent?" Clary frowned.

"We've smelt it twice before," Jace ran his tongue along his upper lip and Clary followed the movement with her glittering eyes before lifting her eyes back to his. "Once when Jem was changed, the smell was all over him for weeks after he was turned by the rogue Alpha. And once," he shifted the hand that wasn't holding hers, resting it on the curve of her hip and squeezing lightly. "And once when you and Simon were attacked." Clary's eyes widened and it was a natural response to try and tug her hand away to step back, but Jace didn't let her.

"It's the same rogue were?" Clary asked with widened eyes.

"It's the same one," Jace confirmed with a short nod.

"Why didn't Jem or Simon recognize the scent?" She asked, feeling a little sick at the idea of the rogue Alpha who attacked her and Simon and who forcibly turned Jem being so close to their home again, even though Will's territory was still several hours away. Given the rogue had already come back twice, once with Simon and once with Jem, there was always the chance that he would come back, but it had been a long time since she had thought about him. Along with the sick feeling in her stomach was a flash of anger, that this rogue was potentially threatening her family—her pack.

"Simon wasn't turned when the rogue attacked your car, you know that," Jace murmured. "I didn't turn him until we pulled him out of the car, and he wouldn't have remembered any scents or sounds while it was happening. And with Jem, he couldn't focus when he was first turned, you remember what he was like, couldn't keep his head on straight with the way everything was amplified for him." Clary remembered back over a year and a half ago when Jem first became part of their pack. The poor kid was lost and confused, was finding it hell to get through school each day with the assault on his senses.

"Isabelle said you smelt like the morgue," Clary prompted, her breath tight in her throat.

"First, Alec and I went back to where Alec had picked up on the scent the night before. And then we went to the morgue. The body had already been taken, but we had a look at the reports. They were all standard ones when it comes to humans trying to cover up a werewolf attack, nothing different, pointing toward who it might be," Jace sighed. "I called Will and told him to tell us if they smell the rogue again."

"Do you have any idea of who it might be? I mean...If the rogue keeps coming back in this area, maybe it's one of the were's who were here before?" Clary suggested, although she knew that Jace and Alec had undoubtedly thought of that already. Jace was already shaking his head.

"Apart from Maia, there were three other werewolves in the area. There was Gabriel, Theo and Leila," Jace responded. "Theo and Leila were together, and they liked not having an Alpha. Which was completely fine, that's their own business if they don't want to be affiliated with a pack, but it meant that they needed to leave, because this is Herondale territory. Gabriel stayed around for a bit, but his girlfriend, Véronique, was killed in a convenience store robbery in a few towns over." Clary winced in sympathy. "He didn't stay around for much longer than that, everything around here reminded her of him."

"Understandable," Clary mumbled.

"Besides, I know all of their scents, so does Alec, and it wasn't them," Jace told her. Clary nodded a couple of times, processing everything that he had told her.

"So why is there tension between you and Alec?" She pressed.

"Alec wants to tell the rest of the pack," Jace muttered. "I don't."

"What?" Clary arched an eyebrow.

"It's going to make some of them upset—especially Simon and Jem. Simon can deal with it, I don't doubt that, although Isabelle will probably get worked up. But Jem shouldn't have to worry about it. I wanted to find out more before I said anything," Jace looked pained at the idea of causing any unrest in his pack. "I didn't mean for the pack to get caught up in between me and Alec, that's not what I wanted." Clary nodded again and took a step back from him, tugging her hands free and walking back to the couch. "You alright?" Jace's words were clipped but she knew he was watching her carefully.

"I'm fine," Clary licked her lips and rubbed them together as she thought, before crossing her arms over her chest an turning back to him. "You need to tell them—the rest of the pack."

"No," Jace said abruptly.

"Yes," Clary argued back. "You and Alec fighting isn't making anyone in the house happy, and that's not good. Max is feeling torn between his brother and his Alpha, the rest of your pack doesn't like it when you and your second in command are at odds." Jace sighed and looked away from her, but Clary kept her eyes on him levelly.

"You need to get it out there in the open. I know that you're trying to protect them, but this isn't the right way. They trust you— _we love you_ ," Clary assured him and Jace looked back at her, head tipped forward slightly toward her. "You just need to be honest with them. They'll follow your lead, you just need to let them in, and show that you trust them as much as they trust you." Jace stared down at her for a long time, and Clary felt her breath catching in her throat at the flecks of red that were shining in his usually flawless gold eyes.

"Okay," Jace jerked his head in a nod. "Okay," he repeated, stepping toward her to rest his hand on the side of her neck. He leaned in, and her eyes automatically fluttered closed as his lips touched the corner of her mouth, mainly on her cheek, but the softness of his mouth ever so slightly against hers. "Thank you," he told her earnestly as he pulled back. Clary's heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she didn't doubt for a second that he could hear it, but he didn't say anything. He gave her a small, almost unnoticeable smile, before walking toward the door. A couple of seconds later, she heard the engine of his motorbike roar to life as he left her drive way.

 _Okay._

 _So, I had my movie/TV show/song recommendations all written up, but then Wednesday happened, and I kind of wanted to say something and it didn't seem right to put them in here along with this._

 _So...I'm going to start this with; I don't understand. I can't comprehend. I have absolutely no idea what the people and the families of those involved in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida are going through. I can't even imagine what...What they're feeling or how they're doing._

 _I just...I don't even know how to put what I personally feel into words, and then I think about how shit and selfish that is, because I'm halfway around the world, and yet there are people who were_ there _, people who were_ in that school _, and they've been incredibly brave by doing interviews or getting out there via social media about what they went through, and what_ needs to happen _. I watched an interview with one boy who put it well, "We are children. You guys are the adults. Work together, get over your politics and get something done."_

Yes _._

 _Where I live, the last time we had a mass shooting—which is defined where four or more people selected indiscriminately, not including the perpetrator, are killed—was in 1997. In my life time, there have only been three. From what I understand, there have been_ eight school shootings this year alone _in the US. I just—I can't even understand that._

 _I don't usually put things up about national/international events, but there were kids my baby brothers age...There were_ fourteen year olds who were killed _. How do we live in a world where someone can do that? I was absolutely bawling my eyes out when I was reading the updates and watching the videos that kids had posted and I just...I don't understand._

 _I just wanted to say I'm sorry._

 _To anyone who is directly or indirectly affected._

 _To anyone who lives in the US and this is a constant fear for you._

 _Because that's really all I can say xx_


	10. Chapter 10

_Another update! I hope you guys are enjoying this one, it's one of my absolute favourites. I think I managed to finish this whole story within about four or five months? Hope you enjoy the chapter!_

The tension in the room was palpable and Clary pursed her lips as she looked around the room. Simon's lips were parted and Isabelle's eyebrows were pulled together, her eyes narrowed and flashing as Jace explained everything he had told Clary two nights ago. Alec had looked surprised when Jace had begun speaking once all the pack had finished dinner and gathered in the lounge, ready to put on a movie. Clary was sitting beside Jem on the couch, and the younger boy was chewing down on his bottom lip as Jace finished speaking. She reached out and put her arm around Jem's shoulders, tugging him in close to her side. Jem folded into her hug, resting his head on her shoulder even though he was so much taller than him.

"You should have told us when all this shit first started happening," Maia spoke up, her voice quiet but even. There was a hum of agreement from a couple of the were's in the room, but there wasn't any blatant anger on their faces. Some looked hurt and confused, but they weren't angry at Jace, because they knew that their Alpha was just looking out for what was best for them, even if it was a little misguided.

"I'm sorry," Jace's voice was earnest, and Clary knew that the werewolves would be listening to to the steady heartbeat, hearing his honesty.

"Have you picked up on the scent anywhere around here?" Simon asked, his hands clenched together in front of him as he looked over at Jace.

"No," Jace shook his head. "And we've been going out and checking the perimeters regularly."

"And that's why you asked me a couple of times to check the wards," Magnus murmured, getting a nod from Alec. Magnus shot his boyfriend a dirty look, and Clary was guessing that Jace was going to be let off easier than Alec when it came to Magnus. Jem was still resting against Clary's side, and she rubbed her hand up and down his bare arm, tilting her head to the side, letting him easily breathe in her scent as comfort. Max and Jem were the youngest at sixteen and seventeen respectively, and the rest of the pack felt even more protective toward them than usual. There was something about Clary being human that drew two to her, which was why Jem looked as though he was practically clinging to her.

"We trust you with your lives," Isabelle's voice was soft as she stood up and walked over to where Jace was standing, putting her hand down on his elbow. She kept her eyes lowered as a sign of respect, and Clary followed Jace's eyes as he blinked in relief and lifted one hand to touch the side of her neck. Isabelle took that as a sign that she was okay to meet his eyes, because she jutted her chin forward and looked up. "But you need to be more straight forward with us. Because we're _pack_. That's closer than blood and family." Jace nodded and Isabelle looked over her shoulder to where the rest of the pack was sitting, her eyes flickering over the group before resting on her boyfriend for a moment. Then she left the lounge, heading toward the steps up to her and Simon's room. The room fell back into silence, and Alec raised his eyebrow over at Clary, giving her another look, and she ignored him pointedly, looking over to where Simon was sitting, hands still clasped in front of him.

"I'm gonna go for a run," Jem said abruptly, pulling away from Clary and reaching down to kiss her on her temple.

"Jem—" Maia began, getting up from her seat.

"I'll be back later," Jem was already running out the door, his jacket tossed over his shoulder an onto the ground. Jace licked his lips, his fingers twitching. It looked as though he wanted to say something, maybe shout after Jem, but he stayed in his seat, his nostrils flaring as he breathed out heavily. Maia sighed and looked down at Jordan, who was sitting quietly on the corner of the couch, his lips pursed together. There was some tension in the room between the rest of the pack that was there, and even Sammy was looking around with a confused expression on her little face.

"We might head upstairs," Jordan spoke up, and Maia nodded, eyes moving over to Jace, who gave an ever so slight nod of his head.

"I can look after Sammy for a bit," Clary hoped the smile she gave them was a bit more relaxed that the situation felt, wanting to smooth everything over. It wasn't as though Jace had put any of them in danger, but there were barely ever secrets in a pack, and given this affected both Simon and Jem, Clary could understand that they felt upset he hadn't wanted to tell them what he and Alec had found out. They were a close knit pack, trusting each other and living together as though they had known each other all their lives instead of some one them just a couple of years, and they weren't used to keeping things from one another.

"Thanks, babe," Maia gave her a smile and then she and Jordan left the room. Sammy watched them go, her eyes wide, but then she just started chewing on the teething ring in one of her hand, using her human teeth.

"I'm going to go up and check on Izzy," Simon said quietly as he got off the couch. Clary watched him carefully, and he looked like he was going to head straight past Jace, but he paused, and put his hand on Jace's arm. "I understand why you did it," his voice was low, and Clary only heard the words because she was sitting close by. "Thanks for telling us." Then he was leaving the room as well, so only Jace, Clary, Magnus, Alec and Sammy were left.

"I'm going to go find Jem," Jace finally spoke, and got up from his arm chair. He paused, looking down at Clary, and she reached out her hand toward him. He took it, squeezing her fingers tightly and looking like he wanted to give her a hug, but decided against it and took off out the front door, heading in the same direction that Jem had gone, into the woods that surrounded the house. Sammy's rosebud lips parted as she watched her Alpha go, tilting her head to the side so that her few, dark coloured curls flopped to the side. Even as a baby, she still recognized Jace as her Alpha, something that both confused and amazed Clary.

"You talked him into this," Alec stated, raising an eyebrow over at Clary. "He wasn't going to say anything, he was fucking stubborn as shit about it. But he went to your place last night, and you convinced him to tell the rest of the pack." She gave him a level look before getting off the couch and walking over to Sammy.

"Have you had a bath, darling?" She cooed, and Sammy gave her a gummy smile. Alec opened his mouth but Magnus shot a look over at him, and Alec sighed, his expression almost grumpy as he looked out the window instead. Clary ignored the pair as she picked Sammy up and rested her on her hip, the little girls eyes flaring gold with happiness for a moment as she weaved one fist into Clary's long, red hair. As she walked out of the room, Alec spoke again, his tone gravelly,

"You're good for him." Clary hoped that the red flush on her cheeks didn't appear until she was out of the room. Sammy definitely noticed the change in Clary's heartbeat, because she gave her a curious look before looking back down at her teething ring.

* * *

It was dark outside by the time Jace got back to the house, Jem jogging at his side. Both boys had dirt and drying blood on their arms and Jem had it on his legs. The cuts that had come from trees and twigs snagging on their limbs had long healed, and Jem looked tired from running for so long. Jace could have gone for longer, but it wasn't about him getting a good work out tonight, it was just about keeping the young were in his pack company. Jem wasn't angry, he had just been confused, and like all the other were's in the pack, everything just made so much more sense when he was in his wolf form.

"You alright?" Jace grunted as they reached the back porch of the house, the curtains and windows all shut now, but the back door still unlocked and the light on, waiting for them to get back.

"I'm fine," Jem nodded. The younger boy wasn't lying, Jace could hear his steady heart beat, but he was still picking up on his nervous chemosignals. He held the door open to let Jem in first, but he reached out for him before he could disappear into the house. Jem blinked back at him as Jace's hand shifted from where he was holding his shoulder, tightening his grip around the back of Jem's neck. Jem let out a breath, his body relaxing under his Alpha's touch, and the remaining tension in his body seemed to relax.

"You come and see me if you need to talk," Jace told him earnestly. "Me or one of the others, if you want to talk." Jem gave Jace a small smile, this time seeming more sincere, and Jace let his hand rest there on the back of Jem's neck for a few moments later, his comforting, Alpha scent rubbing off on Jem's skin before letting him go. They started walking toward the stairs, and Jem paused once they got to the top, sniffing the air before shooting Jace a grin.

"Clary's still here," he smirked, his eyes twinkling knowingly. Jace just shot him a narrow eyed look before shoving past him, heading toward his room.

 _Sooooooo, in exciting news, I'm off to Ed Sheeran in just a few days! Whoop whoop! Don't even care if it rains like the forecast says it's going to, it's going to be amazing._

 _I've got quite a few song recommendations this time;_ All The Stars _by Kendrick Lamar and SZA,_ Pray For Me _by Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd and_ Love Lies _by Khalid and Normani. Older ones that I've been listening to a bit lately that I used to be completely in love with are_ The Devils Tears _by Angus and Julia Stone,_ Dare You To Move _by Switchfoot (those_ Walk To Remember _feels! Haha) and_ Breath _by Breaking Benjamin._

 _In TV show recommendations by big one is_ Everything Sucks! _on Netflix. It's amazing. Me and my hubby binged the whole thing in an afternoon. Haha. I just love all of the characters so much! The parents, the kids—I definitely have a thing for Scott Pocket, I thought he was fucking amazing. Hahahaha. I know there's a lot of controversy around Kate and Emaline because of the actual actresses, but I thought they were gorgeous._

 _Now, here's where I need some help from you guys! So, in two areas..._

 _First is with_ Pressing Play (Rewind and Repeat) _. I'm doing another round of songfics based on letters of the alphabet and I still have some letters left. K, O, P, Q, U, W, X and Z. So please send me some songs starting with those letters and I'll see if I can make a fic work around them!_

 _The second thing is something that I'll be asking for more help with later. There's a story I'm working on at the moment, called_ Changing Faces _, the summary for it is on my profile, and it's spanning ten years. The year that I'm planning at the moment is 2009. So, what I'm asking from all you beautiful people, is send me things you were into in 2009. Music, movies, TV shows, fashion trends. Things you were dealing with in 2009, things that you were going through. Also big things that happened; celebrity news, political news, national and international events. Anything! I will, of course, credit it you._

 _Leave a review, let me know what you think, of the chapter and my notes x_


	11. Chapter 11

_So we get some insight into Jace in this one :)_

Instead of going to his own bedroom, Jace gently pushed open the door for the spare room where Clary stayed. While he had been hoping that she would stay the night—just like he always hoped that she would stay, since she refused to move into the house despite the fact that the whole pack tried to convince her—he hadn't been sure if she actually would. He heard a second heart beat coming from her room, and he picked up on Sammy's scent before the door had even opened properly. Clary had gotten good at sensing things like people watching her or entering the room, even if they were moving close to silent, one of the things that you pick up on when you're surrounded with supernatural beings on a daily basis. But she hadn't seemed to realize that Jace was watching her, his whole face soft as he looked at Clary cradling Sammy in her arms, the tiny werewolf fast asleep and clutching onto Clary's hair with one hand. Jace could sense that Clary was tired, but there was no resentment for the child in her arms, only absolute, pure love.

And that made Jace's heart beat so fast in his chest that he didn't doubt for one second any of the werewolves in the house would be able to hear if they weren't all in their sound proof rooms with their doors shut.

Clary was...Clary was one of a kind.

She was beautiful, and intelligent, and kind, and selfless and one of the most incredible beings that Jace had ever encountered.

She was loyal and a survivor, adapting to things that so many people would catch a glimpse of and then run in the opposite direction. He knew that sometimes she considered herself weak, and that she still felt bad about leaving to go to University, but Jace had always known that she would come back to the township, and he had been selfishly happy about that, even though he knew that she deserved a life away from all this craziness.

Right from when he had first laid eyes on her, he had felt a pull to the redhead. Isabelle was head over heels for Simon, and the kid had been smart enough to know that there was something going on with her, Jace and Alec, although he had absolutely no idea what it was. Jace could sense the confusion and curiousness on the younger man whenever he was around, but even though Isabelle had been rapidly falling in love with him, she had known better than to ask Jace if she could reveal their secret. Jace had kept his distance from them, just like he did with most people who weren't pack, but then the night of the accident had happened.

They had been tracking the scent of the rogue Alpha when they had heard a roar and then a horrible clanking of twisting metal. That was the first time he had ever seen Clary, bleeding and trapped in the passenger side of the car, looking terrified and hurt, but watching her best friend intently, her worry only for him.

Isabelle had begged him to save Simon, and Jace knew that he had to—for his pack, but also for the red haired girl, who was fading in and out of consciousness. Alec had ripped her from the car and had brought her around to the side of the road where Simon was stretched out in Isabelle's arms. She kept mumbling Simon's name, trying to lift her arm to reach him, and the determination in the girls face paired with the way Isabelle was crying and asking for him to save Simon, to change him, had been enough for Jace to open his mouth and turn his first human to a werewolf.

Afterwards, he had a couple of idle thoughts about how he had thought his first turning would go. His father had always told him that it would feel completely different from anything else, it was almost like a spiritual experience. But it wasn't something that you were just supposed to do as a spur of the moment decision unless the situation completely demanded it. This definitely was one of those life or death situations, but it had all been over with so quickly, it took a little while for it to sink in that it had actually happened. Sure, he was an Alpha, and Isabelle, Alec and Maia were all technically his beta's, but he hadn't turned them, which gave him a different sort of tie toward Simon.

Once he had processed what he had done, his thoughts had moved to Clary, who was sleeping on the couch in their lounge. Alec had suggested taking her to one of the bedrooms, but Isabelle had reminded them that unlike Simon, she had never been to their house before, and waking up on the second floor of a house that she had never been in would probably freak her out, especially after what she had just seen. Being in the lounge in an open space and being able to see outside and the front door would probably calm her down a bit.

Clary had been a little panicked when she had woken up—she had been alone when she woke up, but the werewolves all heard the change in her heart beat as she came back to consciousness and looked around. But she had recovered quickly, and then her complete focus had been all about Simon.

Magnus had been the one who explained things best to her, and she had snorted and been disbelieving at first, but then it had all sunk in.

Jace was pretty sure the part of her that he had been most surprised by—not all unpleasantly, although admittedly it did lead to some friction—was the way that Clary had no qualms about going toe to toe with him when she disagreed about something. It was only two weeks after Simon had been turned that he and Clary had their first argument, and the rest of the pack had no idea what to do, watching wide eyed as the petite human faced off against the Alpha werewolf fearlessly.

The love that she had for Simon had quickly extended to the rest of the pack, and Jace had watched the way that they all gravitated toward her. Jordan liked not being the only human in the pack, and Max liked having someone to talk to who wasn't his Alpha or his siblings, and Alec was strange in the way that he grudgingly accepted Clary, and he seemed to like her even more when she argued with Jace.

She was nothing like Camille Belcourt.

Just bringing that woman's name to his head made Jace feel dirty and used all over.

When he was younger, the Belcourt coven had been living in a neighboring town. There was a hesitant truce between them and the Herondale pack that had been lead by Stephen Herondale, Jace's father. Vampires and werewolves never got on particularly, distaste for each other ran in their veins and was built into their bones, but to keep the peace, the head of the coven and the Alpha of the pack had come to an agreement long ago. Sometimes it was shaky, and war was threatened, but most of the time they managed to exist without running into each other. When saying that they lived in neighboring towns, there were still several hours between their homes, and they made a point to stay out of each others way. But then one of the vampires had been killed, looking as though they had been completely shredded apart by fangs, and that was when things became even more strained.

A majority of the coven had wanted to break the truce, and blame the werewolves, and attack. But their elders had refused to let them do it, saying that they could not break the agreement without complete proof, because going up against just one pack, could bring on a whole lot more trouble from other packs. The Herondale pack had known that it wasn't a werewolf who attacked the vampire when Stephen had examined the body, and he had determined that it was a hellhound, but the vampires had claimed that he was just trying to cover for his pack.

When Jace was fifteen, he had met Camille completely by accident, or at least, that was what he had thought. She had been beautiful and more experienced and even though she had been a vampire, for some reason he had thought that she was different. She never seemed to give off any indication of finding the fact he was a werewolf a problem, although in hindsight, vampires were notoriously good at covering their feelings and chemosignals, given they had thousands and thousands of years to pick up tricks and practice. Jace had been young, and impressionable, and he had thought he loved her—that she loved him.

It turned out that the vampire who had been killed had been her little brother, and the only real family that she had left.

And in response to his murder and the Herondale pack being blamed, she had taken her revenge by worming her way into Jace's confidence, and attacking the pack when they were at their weakest, her and two other vampires who didn't believe in the truce.

They had killed everyone.

They had killed his parents, and the rest of the pack that he had grown up, who were his family. The three children—two of whom were human—that Jace had known since the minute they were born. His grandfather, and his aunts...They had killed everyone.

The only reason Jace had been spared was because he had been out of the town at the time, leaving last minute with Will to go and visit the Lightwoods in the city. It had been something they had just randomly decided, they hadn't even told the Lightwoods that they were coming. They had almost reached the Lightwoods when a sick feeling had overtaken Jace, and all of a sudden his blood was burning in his veins and then his eyes turned red, a bloody haze falling over his vision.

The Alpha spark had been passed onto him, which meant that Stephen had been killed.

It had taken a long time before he could look himself in the mirror again, and he still blamed himself for their deaths. It didn't matter what people said, he carried the guilt around, heavy on his shoulders. He was no longer the laughing, joking kid he had been before Camille and his pack had been wiped out, and it had taken him a long time to trust anyone new.

Clary was different.

"Jace?" He blinked, not realizing that he was still in the doorway, just staring at her. Clary's face was concerned, and her voice was low. "What's wrong?" Jace schooled his expression to a careful, blank one, but Clary just raised an eyebrow at him, and he knew that he wasn't fooling anyone. Clary shifted Sammy in her arms, and then silently lifted an arm toward Jace. He was taken aback by the blatant invitation, but he didn't hesitate to walk over to her. He was still had dirt and a couple of streaks of blood, but Clary didn't appear at all phased as he slipped between her duvet covers and pressed his body against Clary's. "Jem alright?" Clary asked softly, smoothly shifting the direction of conversation since she picked up he didn't want to talk about what was on his mind.

"He's fine," Jace murmured as he tugged on Clary's body. They shuffled around until they were lying down rather than in a seated position. Sammy made a little noise in the back of her throat and re-positioned herself. The wolf inside the toddler could sense that her Alpha was near, because she reached out a hand in a subconscious effort to get closer to him. Jace put an arm around Clary, letting it rest in the dip in her side and letting the toddler grip his finger. A calm settled over him, soothed by Clary and the toddler—by his pack.

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, his nose buried in Clary's hair, and his body curled protectively around hers.

 _Okay._

 _So._

 _I went to a Halsey concert last night._

 _Holy FUCK._

 _She was incredible._

 _She was_ fucking amazing _._

 _I still can't even put it all into words._

 _My favourite artist is Eminem, and I've seen him live, and my second favourite is Halsey, and I've seen her live, and they both just killed it._

 _She put on an incredible performance and her vocals were insane and just..._ Oh my god _! Haha._

 _Khelani opened for her and she was amazing as well._

 _OMG._

 _So I'm just going to leave this here and continue watching videos of her for the rest of the day._

 _Peace out, beautiful people x_


	12. Chapter 12

_An update! About a week earlier than I planned, but I'm going away this weekend and then quite busy next week, so I thought I would update now! Also, part of the reason I'm busy next week is because it's my birthday! So here's an early birthday present from me to you xx_

Jace felt someone in the room before he was fully awake, and when he was aware of that, his eyes flashed open, breathing in sharply through his nose. Maia's scent pierced through the sweet, baby smell of Sammy and comforting, familiar scent of Clary, and he let his muscles relax, barely moving so as not to disturb the two females next to him. Maia smiled at softly as she came around to the side of the bed where Sammy was fast asleep, one of her hands still wrapped around a couple of Jace's fingers. Maia didn't say a word as she picked up her daughter, and then looked between her Alpha and the red haired girl, who was fast asleep, both of Jace's arms around her, one under her neck, and the other over her side, where Sammy had been laying. She continued to look between them, a very pointed message behind her gaze, and Jace was tempted to flash his Alpha eyes at her, but after another minute, she rolled her eyes and left the room with her daughter, as silently as she had entered.

He looked around, to the windows where the curtains were drawn, but it was still clearly dark outside. He could hear birds outside, and there was a faint smell of early morning dew that he could picture settling on the grass and trees outside. So it was probably around five in the morning. It made sense that Maia would come in to get Sammy around the time, given the little girl usually woke up around five thirty like clock work.

Clary suddenly shifted and Jace froze, wondering for a fleeting moment if he should leave. But she rolled over, sliding one of her legs between his and burying her head into his chest, and making a sleepy noise.

Jace swallowed hard, stroking the fingers from one hand through her hair and then went back to sleep.

* * *

Clary felt as though she was in a furnace when she woke up, and she crinkled her nose in distaste. It wasn't an unusual thing, to be surrounded by heat when sleeping with werewolves, however when she had fallen asleep last night, there had only been a toddler in front of her, and one werewolf behind her. Now, as she opened her eyes and looked around, she could see that Jem had replaced Sammy—who must be with her parents now—and Isabelle had crawled in behind Jace. Max was awake, but he was lazily stretched out across the bottom of the bed, scrolling through his phone.

But that wasn't unusual.

Waking up to find that she was sharing her bed with multiple were's.

They were tactile, always drawn in by the scent and feel of others in their pack, always needing to be around each other.

"Aw, well why don't you look at that?" Magnus cooed from the doorway, waking the werewolves who were still asleep in the room, earning a growl from Isabelle. "Mummy and daddy and some of their pups, all sleeping in the same bed." Clary pulled the fingers at the warlock, trying to fight her blush. The pack teased her about being the 'pack mother' all the time, but it felt a little bit different when her and Jace were being called 'mummy and daddy' in the same breath.

"Fuck off, Magnus," Jace grumbled, and Clary could feel his breath against the back of her neck. Isabelle pulled the pillow out from under her head and threw it in Magnus' direction, but Clary already knew that any chance of her going back to sleep was long gone.

"You could at least start breakfast if you're gonna be an asshole and wake us up," Jem grumped, turning beside Clary and cuddling in closer to her.

"Alec has gone out to buy eggs," Magnus responded, not at all bothered by the annoyed vibe that was coming from the room, leaning against the door frame and checking his fingernails. "You lot go through them all and don't add them to the fucking shopping list—you know that it's not actually hard to write a four lettered word onto the big piece of paper on the fridge that says 'shopping list', right?" There was no answer from the room, and Magnus rolled his eyes at them. "Especially you two, Mr Growing Wolves," he waved his finger at Jem and Max—Max showing extreme maturity by poking out his tongue at the warlock.

"How long ago did Alec leave?" Clary asked, wondering how long she had before he returned and they started on breakfast.

"He's just getting back now," Jace sighed, and the arm around her waist seemed to tighten as an automatic response to the idea of her getting out of bed. Clary's stomach tightened as Jace's fingers burned like a brand against her skin, and she let her eyes close, her soft body relaxing against Jace's hard one. Sure enough, a minute later, even Clary's human ears could hear a car parking up outside, a signal that Alec was home. "Okay," Jace didn't sound happy. "Everybody up—Max and Jem?" The two younger werewolves looked toward their Alpha. "Magnus is right. When you finish the eggs, write them on the shopping list." They both nodded before the teenagers were scrambling out of bed and heading toward the door.

The pair of them were teenagers _and_ werewolves, and the amount of the food that they went through was ridiculous. While Clary wasn't there for every meal, she knew that they ate enough to feed a small army on a daily basis.

"Hey, Izzy?" Clary murmured, referring to the girl on the other side of Jace. "Where's Simon?" Isabelle took a few beats before answering, and Clary felt Jace turn slightly toward the dark haired girl, waiting for her response as well.

"He woke up early this morning," Isabelle said quietly. "I think he had a nightmare, he smelt scared and angry." Jace twitched and Clary didn't have to see his face to know that he was feeling guilty about the night before. "He's not mad at you, Jace," Isabelle sat up and looked down at her Alpha. "It's just the idea of that rogue being so close again is bringing back memories, and freaking him out." Clary's heart ached for her friend. "He went out for a run and he hasn't come back. He'll be okay, he just needs some time alone."

"He'll be back soon," Clary murmured reassuringly. "His stomach will force him back." Isabelle let out a snort and nodded.

"Good point," she agreed before making a loud noise as she stretched her arms above her head, arching her back and wiggling on the bed. "I'm gonna get up, make sure those boys don't burn down the kitchen." Isabelle got out of bed, only wearing a pair of underwear, once again demonstrating how unabashed the werewolves were with their nudity. She walked lazily out of the room, turning toward where her bedroom was. Clary felt the nervousness in her stomach again and looked over at Jace, who was staring at the ceiling.

"He's pissed off," Jace muttered glumly.

"No, he won't be," Clary replied as she sat up and slung her legs over the side of the bed. "He just wants to get his thoughts straight without all of you sniffing out his feelings," she tossed a teasing smile over her shoulder before she got up and walked over to the dresser where more than half her wardrobe seemed to be. She could feel Jace's eyes on her and she knew if she turned around, there would be nothing but appreciation and adoration showing on his face. That wasn't her being arrogant or full of herself, because being surrounded by werewolves who had perfect figures and unfairly smooth skin, she often felt inferior compared to them.

But Jace thought that she was beautiful, it would show on his face when he looked at her sometimes. It had taken her a long time to process what the expression on his face was, and maybe some knowing prompting from Aline and Lydia, and then she had figured it out. She was still confused by it, she didn't understand what he saw in her, but it did all sort of things for her confidence to know that a gorgeous man was at least physically attracted to her.

"What are you thinking about?" Jace asked in a low voice as she pulled out a pair of jeans from the dresser drawers and slid into them.

"Huh?" Clary mumbled, as she straightened up and realized the next part of getting changed was taking off her shirt. She had gotten changed in front of the pack a hundred times, but usually it wasn't just her and Jace, alone in a bedroom. She took in a breath, taking her shirt off and tossing it toward the chair beside her dresser, now standing in just a pair of jeans as she looked for a bra and shirt, her bare back to him.

"Your heart beat is going crazy," Jace murmured, his voice a whole lot closer than it had been before, and then she felt his heat against her back. Clary froze, his fingers drifting lightly down her arms, goosebumps breaking out over her skin and a shiver running through her as his hands rested on her bare hips. Jace leaned forward, his lips brushing against her bare shoulder, and she knew that he could see her breasts and that she was practically naked in front of him. His fingers on her hips tightened for a moment and then he turned his head, so that his face was pressing against the side of her neck. "We wouldn't be the pack we are today with you, Clary," he whispered, and she felt the graze of his teeth against her skin. "And I wouldn't be the Alpha I am without you." Clary felt a flood of pressure behind her eyes and she had to bite, hard, on her lips to stop them from falling open. It wasn't a kiss that he pressed against her neck, more a gentle bite where she could feel his fangs protruding, and then he was stepping away and leaving the room.

It took Clary a few minutes to calm herself down before she could finish dressing and go downstairs. Just as both she and Isabelle had predicted, Simon was back, looking a little shabby in sweatpants and a singlet that he must have been running in, but he gave Jace a smile when the Alpha put his hand on his shoulder. The house was full of life—loud and messy as the were's fought over who got the first lot of bacon, and who had to set the table.

Sammy was strapped into her high chair, waving her arms above her head, completely loving the hectic atmosphere around her. Isabelle dropped a kiss to Sammy's cheek, and Jem tickled her tiny kicking feet, before Jem and Max started pulling plates and utensils out of the cupboard. Isabelle walked over to Simon, snuffling her face into his neck, breathing in his scent to reassure herself that her partner was okay. Maia and Jordan were taking care of the scrambled eggs, Magnus was showing off and toasting all of the bread with a couple of flicks of his fingers and Alec was protesting that he didn't finish off the last of the orange juice when Jem confronted him. Jace was calm in the middle of all of his pack, his arms folded across his chest and leaning against the door frame, a serene smile on his face.

Clary grinned as she threw herself into the fray, nudging her way between Maia and Magnus to start on the bacon.

 _Songwise; I've become completely addicted to Julia Michaels and Camila Cabello. Recent favourites of Julia Michaels are_ Uh-Huh _and_ Worst In Me _, and for Camila Cabello,_ All These Years, Consequences _and_ Somethings Gotta Give _. Especially_ All These Years _! Also there's_ Homeostasis _by Nostalghia, which is an older one. Ooh, and_ White Flag _by Bishop Briggs, which is absolutely amazing, and was sent through by_ Jling _._

 _I'm also still coming down from my Halsey concert high ;) So anything by her is recommended!_

 _So a couple of movies that I've seen over the past month are_ Ready Player One, Love, Simon, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Red Sparrow _and_ Avengers: Infinity War _._ Pacific Rim _was the typical monster versus robot shit, but no one said it was going to be a masterpiece! Haha. It was good for what it was, a depressing lack of Charlie Hunnam though._ Ready Player One _was a lot better than I though it would be, although my hubby and his friends enjoyed it a lot more than I did, given they got a lot more of the references._ Love, Simon _was beautiful and I recommend to all._ Red Sparrow _was okay, a bit long, and because I'm not the biggest fan of Jennifer Lawrence, that was already a bit of a turn off for me._

 _Now._

Avengers: Infinity War.

 _Holy shit._

 _Amazing._

 _Bucky saying 'Steve'? Okoye's side eye! M'Bakku being strong and beautiful! Steve's introduction to Groot? LOKI?! Spidey and Iron Man's last scene? Shuri's little moment? Wanda and Vision! Steve's BEARD?! Daddy AF. Pretty much everything Drax related. Thor's entry into earth?! Bucky and Rocket's interaction?! Probably a hundred thousand more things that I just don't have time to mention! I've already fangirled hard with_ Allieanna _, we're both pretty heartbroken. If you want to fangirl with me, send me a message, I am_ completely _down for that._

 _Let me know what songs you're listening to, if you've seen any of these movies, what you liked about the chapter or what you didn't like and what you think is going to happen next—leave a review, they keep me going :) Let me know if you want a preview as well xx_


	13. Chapter 13

_Happy Pride Month, beautiful people!_

 _Also, if you enjoy my werewolf stories, I have another one that I've posted called_ A Touch Of Lightning. _So go check that out as well :)_

The tension in the house had completely gone by the time Clary left on Sunday night. It was after dinner by the time she left, and she made sure to drag Simon out to her car before she went, asking him how he was doing. They spoke in low tones, although if any of the werewolves wanted to eavesdrop then they would have been able to hear what they said, but they tended to have some good guidelines when it came to privacy.

"I'll be okay," Simon told his best friend. "It just...Kind of came as a shock that...That the Alpha apparently back in the area."

"I get that," Clary agreed, leaning back against her head rest. She had to admit that it had been playing in the back of her mind as well—the visual of the rogue werewolves's face when he had jumped in front of their car before they had spun off the road. She was trying to push it to the back of her head, and luckily she had had enough to distract herself with for the past couple of days that she didn't have much time to dwell on it. "Are you...Mad at Jace?" She didn't think he was, but she still had to ask.

"No," Simon shook his head. "I think that Alec is actually the one that's most pissed off at him," he snorted.

"But then Alec is always the one who's most pissed off," Clary interjected with a small upturn of her lips.

"There's that," Simon shot a smile at her. "Alec believes that everything should be out in the open at all times, and sometimes that's not always the best thing." Clary tipped her head to the side curiously, letting Simon continue at his own pace. "I mean, I _think_ I'm glad that Jace told us about the rogue being around again and attacking someone—at least that way we know to be on the look out—but...It still got me worried, and I know that it freaked out Jem. Poor kid. I can understand why Jace was worried about telling us."

"You know that the whole pack has your back," Clary murmured, reaching across the centre console and squeezed his arm. "I'm sorry if I overstepped, maybe I shouldn't have pushed Jace to tell you guys..."

"No," Simon shook his head. "It was a good thing. Besides," he grinned. "I doubt you really had to push him to do it. Jace will do anything if you just give him your pretty smile." Clary rolled her eyes at him and punched him lightly in the arm. "Anyway, I better let you go, it's already late and you have work in the morning."

"Ooh, now you're sounding like my mum," Clary rolled her eyes at him. "But you're right." She reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and waited as he rubbed his cheek against hers, scenting her lightly before pulling back. "I'll see you later." Simon nodded and got out of the car, shutting the door behind him. As Clary reversed her car to turn it around, she noticed Jace standing on the deck of the house, watching her leave.

* * *

"You're distracted," Aline bumped her hip against Clary's hip.

"No, I'm not!" Clary protested. "I'm totally present here."

"Then maybe you should move onto the next plate," Aline gave her an amused smile as she looked at Clary's hands, which were buried in the soapy sink. The plastic plate that she had been cleaning was the same one she had been scrubbing for the past couple of minutes, and it was absolutely spotless. Clary poked her tongue out at Aline and put the plate on the drying rack. "Where's your head at?" Clary shrugged as she started soaking the next couple of plates, which were caked with mushed up peas and carrots from lunch. "You're not answering, which means you're thinking about Jace."

"Am not," Clary retorted.

"Are too," Aline smirked. Clary was tempted to pull the fingers at Aline, but they were at work, and even though a lot of the kids were asleep, there were still five of their older kids who didn't go down for a nap this late in the afternoon. "You and Jace...When is that properly going to happen, aye? You're goddamn perfect for each other."

"I..." Clary licked her lower lip as she stopped scrubbing at the plates and stared down at the water. "I don't know what's going to happen—I don't know if something ever will." Aline tilted her head to the side and frowned, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you talking about everything that happened with his family?" She asked quietly and Clary nodded. "He doesn't compare you to her." As hunters, Aline's family was knowledgeable about most things that happened in the supernatural world. She knew most of the gory details of what happened between Jace and Camille and the rest of his family. "And he loves you—god, he loves you so much." Clary felt her stomach plummet at the word, and she felt as though her breath had been punched out of her lungs. "You can see it whenever you two are around each other, the way he looks at you, when—"

"Aline?" Clary cut her off, and something desperate in her voice must have been enough to make Aline stop. "I can't talk about this." Aline breathed in through her nose as her eyes flickered over Clary's face before she nodded. Clary gave her the smallest hint of a relieved smile before going back to the dishes.

It had taken Clary a long time to find out about Camille, and what she had done to Jace and to his family. From the first time she had met Jace, though, she knew that there was something that weighed heavily on his shoulders. There was a darkness behind his eyes and the way that he found it almost painful to open up to people. He had gotten a lot better now, since his pack had grown again and they had all shown him that they loved and cared for him, but he still held onto the guilt. Maybe about a year or a year and a half ago was when she first visibly saw him beginning to relax, letting the rest of his pack share his pain and help carry with it, and that was when he actually began to smile more freely. Even now though, he was self-sacrificing, and he cared so much about his pack, but didn't seem to feel as though he deserved the same extent of love back.

Clary felt detached for the rest of the day, her mind only half on her job while the rest of her thoughts were on Jace. Once their kids all woke up from their afternoon nap, that was a good distraction, but in the lull—when it was story time, and Lydia was making all the noises along with the animals in the book Aline was reading—her mind went back to Jace. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped her thumb against the screen to look at her screensaver. It was of her, Jace, Jem and Isabelle, smushed together on an armchair with Jace on the bottom and the other three all piled on top of him. Clary, Jem and Isabelle were all laughing and grinning, and Jace looked as though he was trying to look serious, but there was a small smile on his face.

It was after their last child had been picked up and they were finishing their clean up when Lydia came over to Clary.

"Hey, have you heard from Jace?" She asked quietly.

"If this is about what Aline was going on about? Because I just don't want—"

"No, no," the blonde shook her head. "Charlotte called Jace, it's about one of the bodies that showed up at the morgue. She just text me to ask if you were going out there with him, and wanted me to remind you that you're human and not to get in the middle of it all." Lydia gave her a half smile, Charlotte's warnings like that of an over-protective mother, but Clary frowned.

"Go where? What has shown up at the morgue?" She was confused.

"Jace hasn't told you? He left Charlotte about twenty minutes ago, said that he was going to go straight out to follow up on a lead," Lydia tilted her head to the side.

"What's the body? Is it—" there was no one around except her and Lydia, but she lowered her voice anyway. "Does it look like a werewolf attack?"

"No, I don't think so," Lydia shook her head. "Although I don't know the details. I can call Charlotte if you want, ask her to tell you what she told Jace."

"No, it's okay," Clary responded as she picked up her handbag and her jacket, slipping it on. "Can you tell Aline goodbye from me? I'm going to head off."

"Yeah, that's fine," Lydia gave her a smile but the red head was already heading out of the day care. Charlotte worked at the police station, she was the medical examiner, and if she ever got bodies coming through that she thought had a supernatural element to them, she would get in contact with Jace. Most of the time Jace would tell the rest of his pack and they would all figure out who it was in their territory and get rid of them. But sometimes, especially when he was feeling guilty or responsible for his packs pain—like he was right now, in regards to the rogue werewolf—he would pull out the martyr act.

When she got into her car, instead of turning toward her own house, she began driving out toward the pack house, just outside of town. It wasn't five yet, and so Max and Jem might be home, and Maia probably would be, but she wasn't too sure about everyone else. She dialed Alec's number, putting her phone on speaker as she drove.

"Clary?" Alec answered.

"Has Jace called you?" She asked abruptly.

"No, what's going on?" Alec's voice dropped low, becoming more serious.

"Charlotte called him to the station because of a body that showed up—Lydia told me. It seemed as though Jace knew who he was going after because he said he was going out to follow up on some lead," she replied.

"By himself?" It came out almost like a growl.

"Guess so," Clary muttered.

"Go straight to the house," Alec told her. "I'm going to call Simon, we'll go after him."

 _So! My song recommendations this time are_ Help Me Close My Eyes _by Those Dancing Days,_ Burn So Bright _by Bella Thorne and_ Broken Prayers _by Riley Clemmons. Ooh—and_ I Wanna Know _by Bea Miller. Shit, I love most things by Bea, she's bloody amazing, and I've had this song on repeat, for like the past two months. Haha. Oh, and_ Go Dark _by Cassie Steele! It took me a while to get into this one, but I adore it now. Ooh ooh! And_ Lie _by Halsey featuring Quavo. Fucking looove it. Although let's face it, I love everything by her. Omg! And also_ What I Need _by Hayley Kiyoko featuring Kehlani. I've only recently gotten into Kehlani, since I saw her open for Halsey, but I adore Hayley, and I'm so glad she's becoming more popular. This video has just come out and its amaaazing._

 _In other news...The second season of_ Queer Eye _is almost out! Whoop whoop! I bloody love them all, and I cried in every single episode of the first season. Antoni is just bloody beautiful, and Tan and Karamo...Omfg. Gorgeous. And then Bobby is so talented and Jonathan is amazing. Haha. I recommend to all! Also, has everyone seen the new_ Robin Hood _trailer? I love Taron Egerton, can't wait for the movie!_

 _I've starting dabbling in oneshots again. I generally post them all at one time, when I've got chance to come back and edit them all properly, but I'm taking requests if you want to see them through. Doesn't have to specifically be this fandom, go onto my profile and check out other fandoms I'm in or send me a message. Send through songs or ideas and I can try to make them work!_

 _Lastly, I keep meaning to pimp out the amaaazing reppinda5o3, who I absolutely adore. First of all she's got this amazing trilogy that is currently on it's second installment, first one called_ Send My Love (To Your New Lover) _and the second is called_ Hello _. Then there's her latest story and I've fallen in love and we're just one chapter deep,_ Set Fire To The Rain _. And then her baby,_ Clarissa Is A Punk _, which is an angsty ride, but I trust her to get us there in the end! Go and check them out and show her some love. She's ridiculously busy, but she still finds time to write, and her detail and care in her writing is insane, and also listen to me with my one million ideas and was also one of the people to keep me sane when I was house bound for a few months. Including keeping my company literally as I'm typing this because I'm home sick. So go. Go, go, go, go, go!_

 _Send me your recommendations, send me your thoughts on the story, send me anything and I will reply when I can! Let me know if you want a preview xxx_


	14. Chapter 14

_Hey guys._

 _Okay. So..._

 _This is a bit weird, but I thought I should probably post something._

 _I've had a few messages from people, and I've replied to a couple of them, but I guess it would be more fair to post this for everyone to see._

 _I'm just taking a bit of a break from here. I've got a lot going on at the moment; my heads a bit of a mess, my relationship needs work, my job is going through a a lot of changes which is stressful and honestly I'm just not doing too great. Usually writing is my outlet but I've been really stumped lately. I've managed to write a few oneshots but I'm just not happy with them and I just_ can't _write. I open up word documents like every night and just can't get anything out, and when I finally do, I'm not happy with what I do. Over the past six weeks or so I've gotten some shitty reviews which are always from anon's because why would they log in to leave feedback and have a conversation about it? I delete them because I'm one of those people who just re-read and re-read them and obsess over them and it just isn't a great time! So maybe that's got something to do with how..._ Not _like writing I feel._

 _I'm posting this on all of my stories, even the ones I don't update regularly, because I'm not sure how long it'll be before I update. I'm going to try get around to all the reviews I haven't replied to and the messages that are piled up in my inbox, and I_ _hope I'll snap out of my funk soon and then it'll be back to normal :)_

 _I love you guys, 99% of you are absolutely amazing and you're so supportive and patient with me, and I want to say thank you for that x_


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey, beautiful people!_

 _I'm back! You guys have all been beautiful and I appreciate all of your kind words. I'm feeling a lot better, although, as anyone suffering from anxiety, depression and any other lovely mental health issues, I'm taking one day at a time. Still feeling a little...Iffy, but hey. That's life._

 _We're coming up to the end of the year and I always take a couple of months off over Christmas/New Years. So what I'm going to do is update all my stories at the beginning of each month until I go on a break over December/January and then I'll go back to a regular schedule with two monthly updates._

 _Also, a few of you guys tried to help out and suggested maybe if I didn't write so many stories, I wouldn't get overwhelmed. I absolutely love that you guys are trying to help, but the amount of stories isn't the problem. My problems are outside of this little fandom world I try to bury myself in, and the thing that was making it difficult for me to enjoy posting and updating and interacting with you guys was because of a few nasty reviews that just really hit when I was feeling pretty damn shit. So, thank you! But it's okay, I manage sharing out my time on each story well, since I get inspired for different stories all the time and bounce all over the place!_

 _Anyway, on with the story..._

It turned out to be ghouls.

Clary was still having difficulty keeping up with all the new supernatural creatures that she was encountering on an almost monthly basis since finding out about werewolves, and ghouls were a new one. She was waiting back at the pack house with Isabelle when they heard a howl that signaled the boys were okay. Isabelle got a call a few minutes later from Simon, who told them that they were coming back, and that it was a pair of ghouls who had been feeding on the bodies in the morgue.

"What is a ghoul?" Clary crinkled up her nose.

"They can look like people, but they don't smell right," Isabelle said. "They generally feed on dead bodies, so Charlotte must have found a couple of bodies in the morgue that looked different now to when they originally came in. Once they've fed, they can start taking on the appearance of that person."

"That's fucking disgusting," Clary muttered.

"Yeah," Isabelle agreed with a shrug. "I mean, in the scheme of things, they're a whole lot less dangerous than some things we run into, but sometimes they do start feeding on people that are still living, and that's when you have to watch out. They're not technically 'alive' which is why they're a bit harder to kill, but Jace and the boys got it all under control."

"And by harder to kill, you mean..."

"They need to be decapitated," Isabelle responded simply as she walked into the kitchen.

"Who needs to be decapitated?" Maia asked with raised eyebrows as she walked in the front door, Sammy on her hip and Jordan behind her, carrying a couple of grocery bags.

"Ghouls," Isabelle replied.

" _Decapitated_?" Clary exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Yes," Isabelle nodded as she pulled out a large pack of chicken.

"I love how you say that so casually. How is this my life?" Clary muttered, putting a hand to her head and threading her fingers through her hair.

"Wait, are there ghouls _here_?" Maia frowned. Sammy made a couple of noises, waving her hands around and making grabbing motions with her fingers to Clary. The red head reached out and Maia passed her daughter over, her nose wiggling slightly. "You smell worried," she observed. "What's going on?"

"Jace took off to fight some ghouls on his own," Isabelle surmised. "He didn't let any of us know, just left. Clary only found out because Lydia mentioned it to her."

"Oh great, so he's off playing the lone ranger again," Maia sighed.

"Simon and Alec went after him, and they're on their way home now," Isabelle's eyes flitted over to Clary and the girl frowned.

"You're not saying something," she stated. Maybe she didn't have the nose of werewolf like the rest of them, and she couldn't sense the chemosignals like them, but she now knew these werewolves better than anyone else in the world, and they couldn't get away with lying to her. Not for long, at least. "What is it?"

"It sounded like Jace might have been hurt," Isabelle said and both Maia and Clary's eyes widened. "It won't have been bad, you know that he'll recover," Isabelle's words were directed more at Clary, who was still getting her head around the whole 'ghouls' concept, and now needed to process that Jace had been _hurt_. "It's just I could hear some noises in the background, and it sounded like Jace." Clary sighed and shook her head, looking down at Sammy, who was playing with the thick braid that was hanging over Clary's shoulder, mumbling away to herself.

"I'll get started on dinner," Jordan announced. "Do we know where everyone is?"

"Max has a study group and Jem has a later shift at the butchers. They'll both be home in about half an hour—Jem is giving Max a ride home," Isabelle replied. "Magnus won't be home til late, so we'll just put a plate aside for him, but Simon and Alec are with Jace, and they'll be home—"

"Now," Maia concluded, obviously able to hear the boys approaching outside.

"Great, I'll start now," Jordan nodded and put the grocery bags he was holding onto the bench. Isabelle was still watching Clary as Maia moved to help her partner start on dinner for the pack. Clary was focused on Sammy, waving her fingers in front of the little girls face and letting her gnaw down on them, but when the door opened and Alec, then Simon, and finally Jace walked through, her gaze shifted upward. If Clary was a werewolf, Isabelle didn't doubt at all that her eyes would have flashed angrily when they settled on Jace.

Their Alpha had blood staining his clothes—specifically his shirt, mainly around the collar, and there was a bloody gash at the juncture of his shoulder and neck. It was already healing, almost completely gone, but it was still there faintly, and the blood was thick and clotting around the wound. Alec had an angry expression on his face, Simon just looked as though he wanted to take a shower, and then there was Jace, who looked annoyed, and bypassed the pack that was waiting for him and kitchen and wound his way toward the stairs up to his room.

"What happened to him?" Isabelle asked as Simon came over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Clary was already handing Sammy back to Maia and stalking up the stairs after the Alpha. Maia raised her eyebrows and looked over at Isabelle who made a face.

"Looks like mummy and daddy are going to get in an argument," Maia sung under her breath as she bounced her daughter up and down on her hip.

Clary followed Jace, knowing that he was heading straight for his bedroom. The door was still open, but she purposefully shut it behind her, knowing that if she left it open, then the rest of the pack would be able to hear, and as pissed off as she was at Jace, she knew that it wasn't her place to undermine him within earshot of his pack. There was water running in his adjoining bathroom and Clary tried to take in a deep breath to calm herself down, but he would already know how pissed off she was, he would be able to hear it her heart beat and smell it rolling off her skin.

"Clary..." Jace began as soon as she reached the doorway of the bathroom and clenched her hands into fists at her sides. He had taken his shirt off—or he had _ripped_ it off, given it was in bloody sheds on the ground—and Clary had to narrow her eyes to try and keep her resolve when his muscled torso was on full display like that. It didn't matter how many times she saw him half naked—and sometimes even almost _completely_ naked—it still caught her off guard. He was facing away from her, toward the sink where he was soaking a flannel, and the muscles of his back were flexing.

"You are _not_ only responsible for _yourself_ here," Clary began, her voice steely.

"Clary," Jace turned around, and then paused when he saw the furious expression on her face in the reflection of the mirror in front of him.

"I know that you're this big bad werewolf who heals faster than most people can tie their shoes, but that _doesn't_ mean that you can just _go off_ on these little missions on your own," she continued, stepping into the bathroom, her words coming out almost in a furious growl. "We _rely_ on _you_. We _need_ you." Jace sighed and put down the flannel on the edge of the bathroom vanity. "You get these crazy ideas in your head that you need to prove yourself to us—that you have let us down and that you need to show us that you can still look after us."

"That's not it—"

"Don't you _fucking lie_ to me, Jace Herondale," Clary hissed at him as she closed the distance between them and jabbed one of her fingers into his chest. His pectorial was solid, absolutely no give, and it hurt her finger more than it would have hurt him, but it helped to prove her point. "You went out there without telling _any_ of your pack! Without telling your second in charge! Without telling _me_!" Jace's eyebrows pulled together slightly at that comment. "I know that you're practically indestructible and you can deal with most things that come your way but _you don't have to do it alone_. That's what a pack is for. And if something happened to you—" her words stuttered slightly at Jace's eyes softened as he stared down at the petite red head. "If something happened to you, I don't know what the fuck we would do. I don't—I don't know what _I_ would do."

"I don't want you to be angry—"

"Oh, I'm not angry," Clary snorted at him, her mouth twisted into a snarl of a smile. "I'm fucking _furious_. I thought that we _just_ established the other day that we were all in this together? And then the first thing that comes along, you take off? As far as I know, you've never lied to me before, don't you start now—oof!" She was cut off when Jace's eyes glowed red all of a sudden and his hand lashed out and wrapped around her wrist, jerking her forward.

"I've _never_ lied to you," his voice was a growl, and Clary felt it run right through her body. "And I would _never_ lie to _you_ ," his eyes were still glowing red, and his voice was rumbling from his chest, and she couldn't help but shiver. Jace's nose twitched, and the scent of her arousal was thick and sudden and he couldn't help but react instinctively to it, the wolf inside him taking over before he could put it in place.

His lips covered hers, harsh and hard and Clary let out a squeak of surprise as she felt a hint of fangs pressed against her soft mouth. She wasn't scared of the fangs, it was just a shock, exactly like the kiss. His hand was so tight around her wrist that she knew it would bruise, but all she could think was that Jace's _mouth was against hers._

 _He was kissing her._

His teeth came out to nip at her lower lip, and then she felt his tongue pushing between her lips without waiting for her to try and catch up with what was going on, but the instant he tasted the sweet cavern of her mouth, the man seemed to catch up with the wolf half that had lunged toward Clary. It was over in a split second, Jace quickly pulling back and releasing her wrist, his mouth slightly open as though surprised by what he had done.

Clary gaped at him for a moment before pursing her lips together, anger surging back through her as her hand twitched at her side, half tempted to slap him. Instead, she turned around, and jerkily left the bathroom, and then the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

 _Okay! I have so many recommendations, so I apologize in advance for how long this is going to be._

 _Songs!_ Back To You _by Selena Gomez. Holy shit. Words can't even express how much I love this song. Like...My heart, every time...Shit. Yes. And all the fandom videos to this song on Youtube, I'm just loving all of them, they're just incredible. Then there's_ Somethin' We Shouldn't Do _by Chad Brownlee,_ Bad Company _by Five Finger Death Punch,_ Higher _by The Score,_ Panic Attacks _by Elohim and then_ I Said Hi, Mess Her Up _and_ Middle of the Night _by Amy Shark. I've become completely obsessed with Amy Shark. Haha. Then there's also_ Sober _by Demi Lovato...Which does all sorts of different things to my heart now, than Back To You. After her recent relapse, I get a little teary when listening to it..._

 _So movie/TV series wise..._ Alex Strangelove _\- It's quirky and awkward and fucking hilarious and it made me so happy. All of the characters are just so beautiful and well-written and realistic. It's a bit weird, I absolutely cringed a few times and definitely has some areas it could improve on, but if I'm being totally honest...I think it may actually be in like my top twenty movies. It just made me feel so good. My hubby loved it as well. And then there's_ Jane The Virgin _, which we're slowly getting through. My husband is firmly Team Raphael while I'm firmly Team Michael...Now that he's back, I have high hopes. LOL. Also I've recently gotten into_ Reign _, and I'm in love._

 _Also, is anyone else watching_ Who Is America _? Holy shit. It makes me cringe to the point where I hide my face in a pillow, but it's hilarious and chilling and I recommend to all._

 _Anyway, let me know if you guys have any recommendations. Leave a review, let me know what you think, because your reviews mean so much to me xx_


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey, peoples! Here's this months update. A reminder than I also have two other werewolf fics at the moment,_ Ache For Us _and_ A Touch of Lightning _, so check those out._ _Also_ — _I've got Pink's concert next weekend! She's going to be fucking amazing!_

"So what did you do?" Isabelle sat down opposite Jace and fixed her Alpha with a glare.

"I didn't do anything," Jace responded evenly. His heart beat was steady, which was usually an indication of telling the truth, but being a werewolf all of his life and always being surrounded by them had been enough to learn how to control certain things, stop it from skipping a beat, which would be an indication of lying. Isabelle knew this, however, and she continued to glare at him.

"You're lying," she stated. "What did you do?" Jace clenched his jaw and shifted his attention, looking into the lounge where Sammy was laying on her back, gnawing down on one of her teething rings. The toddler went through a ridiculous about of them, given how often her fangs dropped, and those easily pierced through the rings. Sammy had her head tipped backwards, her soft brown curls pushed against the blanket underneath her, watching the two adults behind her. Maia and Jordan had gone out into the woods for a run; Maia letting her wolf free and Jordan at her side, so they were left in charge of the little one. "It's been three days, and she hasn't been here. That's the longest time she's been away! You need to fix whatever happened between the two of you because it just doesn't feel right, here not being here—"

"You think I don't know that?!" Jace's words were a growl as he suddenly directed his gaze back toward Isabelle, and a glimmer of red flashed in his eyes. Isabelle faltered, her mouth closing, but there was still a defiant look in her eyes. He felt bad, but his wolf was angry. Not at her, but himself, because he knew that it was his fault.

For so long, his wolf had been whining and scratching inside him, wanting Clary. Wanting to love her and hold her because of the amazing person that she was, but he had held himself back.

When she had gotten so fired up the other day, her eyes sparking and colour high on her cheeks, and she had spat out that she was furious he had gone off without alerting their pack, without back up. And then she had gotten angry because after talking to her about the rogue Alpha, she had explicitly told him that he needed to trust them, to be more open, and then he had literally done the opposite by keeping this from her. Then she seemed to think that when he had agreed to try and be more open, that he had been lying.

His wolf had practically roared inside his chest, and he hadn't been able to hold himself back from reaching out to her, lunging forward to grab, _needing_ her to understand that he hadn't lied to her, that he could _never_ lie to her. Not to Clary, not with how much he meant to her. He could feel his wolf battling with his human self, his vision was red, and he was holding her wrist tightly—not enough to hurt her, but enough to stop her from being able to move away. For a moment, his human self was winning back control, but then he had caught her scent.

She wasn't scared or frightened or nervous about his wolf showing through, eyes glowing and fangs protruding from his gums. She was startled, still pissed off _and aroused_.

There was no way he could reign his wolf in, and he had brought their lips together hard, so hard that he could feel the awkward click of their teeth together. He had pulled at her lower lip, and it had tasted so good— _she_ had tasted so good, even better than he had imagined. It was that realization that had made his body jolt, finally manage to reel himself back in, pulling away from her and loosening his grip around her wrist. Clary stared at him for a couple of beats, and he could hear her heartbeat going crazy in her chest. There were all sorts of emotions coming off her, and Jace couldn't tell which one was stronger, and then it seemed she had decided anger had won out, and she had left, without a word.

Jace had wondered if he should go after her, call out, but all he could do was lick his lower lip, thinking about how soft her mouth had been against his, already missing the pressure. His wolf wanted to run after her and drag her back into his room, so it was probably a good thing that he hadn't tried to go after her.

"You're thinking about her," Isabelle commented, although her tone wasn't as abrasive as it was before.

"Doesn't matter," Jace responded gruffly as he stood up and walked into the lounge, leaning down to pick up Sammy. The little girl giggled and patted her hands against his cheeks. She hadn't said any full words yet, but she strung letters together and they knew what she meant. The little werewolf recognized Jace for who he was, and she grinned up at him.

"Al-pa," she cooed, letting her eyes flash up at him. Jace forced his body to calm down, not wanting to distress the toddler. She was young and unable to separate emotions clearly, but she could tell when someone in her pack was upset, and because she didn't properly know how to process it, it would just upset her to the point of crying.

"You wanna go outside, sweetie?" Jace murmured. "Wanna go outside and play?" She nodded her head rapidly and Jace glanced back at Isabelle. "You coming?" She nodded, following after her Alpha and her pack mate.

* * *

Clary was it for him.

For his wolf.

Jace ran faster, his toes gripping the wet earth beneath him, clutching at the twigs and fallen leaves and crumbling dirt. The moon was high in the sky but it was mainly hidden by clouds, leaving only streaks of light to cut through the forest canopy layer. It was almost pitch black because of it, and the only reason Jace was able to see anything was because his eyes were glowing red, his supernatural sight letting him navigate with ease. He was letting his wolf take over as he ran, feeling the dirt beneath his feet, hearing the scrabble of a squirrel run up a tree as he approached at top speed, smelling traces of his pack as he passed through the forest. He could feel his face shift, his facial hair becoming coarse, his fangs elongating, and his heart beat changing, becoming a steady beating thud of a wolf rather than the quickened pace of a human.

He wanted Clary.

He wanted her so bad that sometimes it felt like his wolf might take over and claim her and he wouldn't be able to do anything to reign it in and take control.

He kept her close—closer than the rest of his pack, and they knew it. They didn't resent him for it, because they could all scent on him the way he felt about her. Love wasn't simple to read, it was complicated and a twine of a hundred different emotions all together. But once the signs were there, it was easy to see, for humans and especially for wolves. It could be seen and smelt a mile away when it came to Isabelle and Simon, Magnus and Alec, Maia and Jordan. And apparently also on him, toward Clary.

When they slept in the same room as each other, whether it was when the rest of the pack was there and they were puppy piled together on a mattress or when he was pushed up against her with his nose pressed to the back of her neck, her heart beat was the one that sounded like music in his ears. Her scent was the one that soothed him.

She was invaluable to all of them, even as a human she was strong and smart and her heart was twice as big as the rest of theirs. He wasn't sure if the pack would ever recover if they lost her—he wasn't sure if _he_ would recover if he lost her.

And that was one of the primary reasons why he hadn't let himself act any further on his feelings. He definitely toed the line, that was a fact, but there was still this barrier that they both knew would change everything if they stepped over it.

Wolves didn't just casually date.

Sure, when they were younger, when they were teenagers, like Max and Jem, the attachments weren't quite as strong as when they were fully grown, but they still felt things stronger than normal teenagers. That was why Jace didn't encourage the boys to get too invested with girls past a couple of flings, because he knew how difficult relationships could be with humans who's feelings didn't run as deep.

When they got older, a lot of were's chose to just form a relationship with another were, or supernatural being, so that it wasn't as fleeting as some humans were, but others—like Isabelle and Maia—sometimes just let their hearts lead the way, even that was to a human.

After Camille, Jace had closed off his heart to almost everyone, and although he had never said it out loud, he had made a pact with himself that if he was going to fall in love, it would be with another werewolf. But even then, he didn't think it was going to happen again, at least not for a very long time.

Yet here Clary was.

Under his skin, sinking into his bones, wound around his heart.

Jace wasn't sure how long he ran that night, but by the time he got home, it was verging on dawn and his legs felt as though they were going to give out from underneath him—and it took him a long time to get to that point. He staggered up the stairs to his room, not planning on showering before falling onto his mattress. But at his doorway, he paused, looking across at the bedroom that was Clary's whenever she stayed with them.

It had been three days, and his wolf was whining inside him, missing Clary, missing the woman it saw as it's missing piece.

Jace changed his mind, stumbling into her room rather than into his, falling onto the bed and pulling the pillow in close to his face, breathing in her scent and then drifting into a broken sleep, an ache in his chest.

 _Now, my first thing is a Youtube video. It's only a couple of minutes, but it is absolutely fucking beautiful, my heart just...Shit. Anyway. Watch it. It's called_ Homophobia In 2018 | Time For Love _on the channel BBC Social. Please watch it. It's just a few minutes, just a tiny bit of your day, but it's just incredible._

 _Okay! So I have so many songs! Okay, so_ Afterlife _by XYLO. And then_ 1950 _and_ Talia _by King Princess—also, I heard that she and Amanda Stenburg are dating? Not sure if that's true, but damn cute couple if they are. Then there's_ Wild Love _by James Bay. The music video for this is absolutely amazing, Natalia looks fucking heavenly. I can't get over that song. Then there's_ Skydiving, Saviour _and_ We Were Here _by Lights. And then an older one,_ Life After You _, by Daughtry._ And What's Love Got To Do With It _, the cover by Prides, which I heard in_ Dynasty _and fell in love with._

Cloak and Dagger _has recently finished and it was amazing, and you should all definitely be watching it. There's also the show_ Castle Rock _that we've just started with Bill Skaarsgard, and I'll watch anything with him in it. Movie wise, we've recently watched_ Game Night _and_ Stronger _, which were both really good. We're September now and there's so many new seasons of my shows starting! What ones are you guys looking forward to?_

 _As a closing note, is anyone else keeping up with all this Jeffree Star drama and his ex-friends? I'm finding all of it hilarious. Me and one my best friends are in love with it all. Haha. Oh—and 21/08/2018 was apparently Fanfiction Appreciation Day! So, happy...That? Haha._

 _OMG—and everyone should watch_ Crazy Rich Asians _. I fucking loved it._

 _Let me know what you thought of the story, let me know if you want a preview of the next chapter x_


	17. Chapter 17

As the fourth day came around, it seemed as though the pack had decided that they had gone long enough without seeing Clary, given she hadn't been coming by the house. Max was late coming home from school, although that wasn't particularly unusual. Jace was in his study, working on some new architecture plans that he needed to send in, and he could hear Isabelle and Maia starting on dinner, although they were the only ones down there, other than Sammy. It wasn't like Jem or Max to miss dinner, and even though he could hear Jem's heartbeat in the house, he hadn't heard Max come in yet. Jace jogged down the stairs, dropping a kiss to Sammy's head where the little girl was sitting in her high chair, and squeezing Alec's shoulder and then looking around.

"Where's Max?" He asked. It was normal for Simon and Magnus to get home almost exactly on dinner time, although Magnus sometimes had funny hours since he had to work around his client's hours when it came to open houses.

"Simon is picking him up on the way home from work," Isabelle replied. "They'll be back soon." Jace nodded and took a drink out of the fridge, taking in a deep breath of the dinner that the girls were preparing. Maia brushed past Jace, and she paused to rub her cheek against his shoulder, giving him a small smile as she got plates out of the cupboard. The smile that she had given him looked as though it was meant to be comforting, and Jace knew that it was because his pack could still pick up that he was hurting.

"You went and saw her today," Jace commented as he took a sip of his drink. Maia nodded as she started setting the table. She'd had a shower, but Jace could still smell the extremely distinct scent of 'Clary' on the beta.

"Me and Sammy went over this morning, before she went to work," Maia replied, and Jace bit back his urge to ask if she was okay. Of course the red head was okay, all that had happened was that they had had a disagreement and she wanted some time to cool off, it wasn't as though she was sick or anything. Maia seemed to know what he wanted to ask though and she gave him another one of those small, soothing smiles. "She's fine, Jace," she said quietly. Jace nodded, thankful to the curly haired woman. He could hair the tell-tale rattle of Simon's ute approaching, and as it got closer, be picked up on both werewolves in the vehicle.

It was when they got out of the ute, that was when Jace was hit with a strong scent of Clary, neither of them having time to shower like Maia had. So that was why Max had been late back from school. It made sense, and Jace couldn't fault the young werewolf for wanting to go by and see Clary, given she was pack and being separated from pack was like missing a limb. Jace took in a deep breath, suddenly feeling a little shaky at being hit with such a strong scent of the woman, and he could see that Isabelle and Alec were watching him closely—he could feel their eyes on him.

"I think I'm going to go out for a run," Jace said abruptly, putting down the glass bottle he had pulled out of the fridge.

"Dinners going to be ready soon!" Isabelle protested.

"Just put some aside for me," Jace muttered, already starting out the back door, his wolf shift beginning to take over his face. Max and Simon walked in the front door a moment later, Max looking happier than he had all week.

"Hey, buddy," Isabelle sung out to her little brother as they came into the kitchen, Simon giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You feeling better?"

"Shit yeah," Max nodded, his smile then faltering, his nose twitching a little, and then the younger boy sighed heavily. "Jace isn't happy, is he?"

"It's okay," Alec nudged him with his elbow. "He's just missing Clary."

"I know," Max sighed again, crossing his arms over his chest. "Whatever happened between them, I hope they sort it out soon. It doesn't smell as good here with her gone." To a human nose, the house would smell exactly the same. But Clary's scent was part of what made up the scent of the pack, and despite it being over almost everything, it wasn't as strong it normally was. Maia made a sympathetic noise at the back of her throat and came over to stand next to Max, putting one arm around his shoulder and rubbing her forehead against his temple.

"They'll sort it out," Maia assured him.

"Who's sorting what out?" Jem asked as he came into the kitchen, obviously drawn by the smell of food. He took one look around the kitchen—the absence of Jace and the scent of Clary coming off Simon and Max—and surmised what the subject of conversation. "Jace and Clary. Right," he pursed his lips together. "Well, there's really nothing that we can do about it. They're both too stubborn to listen to anyone, so we just need to leave them to sort it out themselves!"

* * *

Jace made it a to a week.

That was six days longer than he thought he could make it, and he might even feel a little bit proud of himself if he didn't feel so nauseous. Werewolves didn't get sick, so it was a strange feeling, his stomach twisting and turning, but he knew that it was directly related to the fact that he was missing Clary. He had to be near her again, he had to see her, breathe in her scent.

So he went to her house.

For almost an hour, he waited outside. He was glad that he had gone at night, after the sun had set, because if people saw him standing partially hidden by the tree's opposite Clary's house, they would have probably called the cops. And rightfully so, really. He couldn't see Clary from his position, her curtains were all closed, but he tuned in to her heart beat, hearing it beat, comforting and familiar, and that was enough to get rid of the churning feeling in his stomach. When he felt as though he had proper control, he walked over to her house. Instead of using his spare key, he thought it would be better for him to knock, and he tapped his knuckles a couple of times against the door. Jace could hear Clary walking toward the door, her feet padding quietly on the floors, and there was a pause when she looked through the peephole before opening up the door.

"Jace," Clary's voice was low, careful.

"Clary," Jace's response was soft. Clary regarded him, and for a moment, Jace thought that she wasn't going to let him in. But then she stepped aside, giving him room to pass her, and then closed the door after he had come inside. He took off his shoes, and followed her into the lounge. The TV was playing at a low volume, and there was a book on the coffee table, tipped upside down to mark her spot. "I wanted..." Jace took in a breath through his nose. "I wanted to apologize...For the other day."

"What part of it?" Clary didn't sit down, wouldn't give him the upper hand if she sat down and looked up at him, folding her arms over her chest.

"I guess..." Jace pursed his lips. "I guess all of it. With going after the ghoul, though, I can't say I won't do it again." Clary's frown deepened, but she didn't look at all surprised. "But the kiss—" he smelt a rush of embarrassment and nervousness from Clary at the mention of that. "I'm sorry, and I won't do that again...I-if you don't want me to." Clary swallowed hard.

"That wasn't fair, Jace," Clary sounded angry, but she was hiding it well with her expression and her voice. Her voice was tight and low, and while she was standing with her shoulders squared, looking determined, she was meeting his eyes. "You can't just do that. Not when you know how I feel about you." Jace blinked rapidly at that, and his bewilderment must have shown on his face because Clary rolled her eyes and turned away from him, picking up the remote for the TV and turning it off before walking into the kitchen. "Don't play stupid, Jace. You _know_ how I feel about you," she swallowed hard as she began to pack away her leftovers from dinner.

This wasn't a conversation that she had been prepared to have tonight, but since she had started, she might as well finish it.

She had resigned herself to the fact that everything was going to come to a head before they could both move on from the kiss, and even though she was anxious about the talk itself and what the outcome would, part of her was also relieved that everything was going to be out in the open.

"You know that I love you," the words were out before she could even think about stopping them behind her teeth. She heard Jace take in a sharp breath behind her, and she just kept on going, closing the fridge and turning around to look back at him, even though it was hard to meet his eyes. "You know that I love you, and I know that you can smell that on me, even if it's just the physical side of things."

"I—" Jace's wolf was getting worked up inside the golden haired Alpha, desperate to reassure the woman, but his human side just didn't know the words to say.

"I know that you have feelings for me," Clary continued. "I don't know if you love me, but you definitely feel something. But whatever you feel, it's not enough to make you act on it, because you've had a thousands chances, and you haven't done anything." That made both he and his wolf hurt, the idea that she didn't think his feelings were strong enough for him to want her. Because it was the absolute opposite of that. "The point remains, though, if you know how I feel and you still kissed me, even though nothing is going to happen between us—that's just not fair, Jace! And I can't just be around you if you're going to do things like—"

She was cut off when Jace let out a growl, his eyes red as he practically flew across the kitchen to smash his lips down on hers. They tasted just as good as last time—better, in fact—and and she felt perfect against his body, crowded between himself and the fridge. His wolf was howling with pride inside him, so glad to have her in his arms, and Jace had to be careful not to push the kiss too far because he still didn't feel as though he had proper control over himself when it came to Clary just yet. When Jace pulled back, Clary's breath was shaky and her eyes were still closed, and her mouth followed after his when he moved before she let her eyes open.

"You're wrong," he whispered, one hand coming up to trail a finger down her face, starting at her temple and tracing down her jaw and touching the corner of her lips. "I want this—I want us."

 _Sooooo the first thing I want to say was that the P!nk concert was absolutely amazing! Holy shit, she was incredible. She spent more time up in the air than she did on the stage. It was also her birthday the night we went, so her daughter and hubby came out with a cake, and shit...The whole thing was just amazing._

 _I rewatched a couple of old movies when I was off work sick, some of my old favourites;_ Dinosaur, Matilda _and_ Stardust _. Honestly, I can never get tired of them. Animated movies are my go-to's when I'm sick or drained and just done with life. Haha. They're just the beeeest. I also really wanted to recommend_ Hannah Gandsby: Nanette _. It's a comedy special on Netflix and I really don't want to say much about it and give it away, but it is absolutely incredible, and not quite what you would expect? Watch iiiiiit._

 _Song wise, I'm super obsessed with_ Dynasty _by MIIA, and all the fandom videos on Youtube using that song. And_ High Hopes _by Panic! at the Disco. Everytime I hear that song, all I can see is Shawn Mendes appreciative look at Brendon Urie as he was performing it at the VMA's. Hahaha. Also_ High On Life _by Martin Garrix,_ Temporary Love _by Joey,_ 48 _by Moss Kena and_ The Getaway _by Hilary Duff. If you guys have any recommendations, send them through!_

 _I've also become re-obsessed with 5SOS. They were amazing in concert when I saw them a few years ago, but I hadn't been a massive fan then. I ammmm now! Luke Hemming in that damn glittery eyeliner. Shit! And maybe when he and Michael play each others guitars, I get intense heart eyes, I don't know..._

 _Oh, has anyone watched the newest season of_ Ozark _? I_ haven't _gotten around to it yet, not sure if it's as good as the first season? Also, we finally finished_ Banshee _. Haha. I know that it's a super old show, but we just have so many that we took ages to get through. But we finally did! God, it was brilliant. I absolutely adored Job and Sugar, and Siobhan just broke my heart. Overall, the show was great, and if you haven't seen it, please do!_

 _Oooh, oooh! And_ The Gifted _is back! Thunderblink is beautiful and I'm totally digging Andy's look. And_ SVU _!_

 _Oh—and is everyone else watching the new Shane Dawsons documentary? I don't really like the subject matter at all, dude's an ass, but I love him._

 _Omg. Okay. I'll stop here. God I hate these once monthly updates. Can't wait till my schedule is less busy. Anyway. Let me know what you thought of the chapter, and let me know if you want a preview xx_


	18. Chapter 18

_Okay, so...I had a really, really,_ really, really _shitty day. Not the worst I've had, not by far, I actually managed to get myself out of bed and somehow drove to work, although through anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, I don't remember much. So I had a horrible, horrible day, but then I came home and my husband had brought me roses, and chocolate, and my favourite lollies—and not_ just _my favourite lollies, but he went through all the packs at the shop to find the one with the most of the pineapple lollies, which are my_ favourite of the favourite _. Then we watched almost three hours of Shane Dawson and Ryland Adams videos, and fell more in love with Garrett Watts._

 _And now I feel a lot better. A_ hell _of a lot better._

 _So much better that I wanted to do something to make you guys happy as well :)_

 _Here's an update..._

"You have no idea how hard it's been for me to try to keep my distance from you," Jace growled at Clary as he leaned in and buried his face in her neck, underneath her hair. He took in a deep breath, surrounding himself in the amazing scent that was just Clary, that was pack and home and love and _Clary_ , and it felt as though everything that had been wrong in the world was suddenly right. "I just wasn't sure...I wanted to protect you—there can be a lot of shit that comes with being the partner of an Alpha and I just—I didn't want you to feel obligated to be with me, just because of your place in the pack. And I never wanted to risk the relationship that you had with the others."

"Jace..." Clary breathed out, and he could sense that she was aroused—that was heavy in the air—and happy, but she was still a little confused. "Jace, I'm already a part of the pack, nothing that happens between me and you will change that. And I know that it can make me more..." she was thinking, maybe doing that cute little thing with her nose where she crinkled it up, but Jace wasn't going to lift his head from her neck where her scent was the strongest. He could happily live with his face pressed against her neck, bathing in the sweet, comforting smell of the woman. "I know it can make me more vulnerable..." her voice was a little shaky, but Jace could tell it was because she was trying to keep herself in check because she was turned on, not because she was nervous. "But I'm already half of the token humans in our pack, so I'm already vulnerable."

"I know, I know..." Jace sighed, and he decided that he had probably spent enough time with his face pressed against her skin and pulled back to look at her face. Her eyes were big and her lips were red, so she must have been licking and biting on them nervously while she was speaking. "I guess I was also just...Scared. For me." Clary sucked her lower lip into her mouth, contemplating her next words.

"Because of Camille?" She asked softly.

"Because of Camille," Jace nodded. The ache in his chest when the girl who had stolen his family from him when he was young was still there, but it was nowhere near as bad as it used to be. The pack helped him move on with his life, creating another family to help fill that hole, and of course, Clary.

"You know I'm not her," Clary said, lifting her hand to rest it against the side of his face, her fingers stretching down over his jaw and her thumb resting gently against his cheekbone.

"I know that," Jace whispered, leaning his head forward so that they were sharing breath, warm against each others cheeks and lips. Their noses were so close they were almost touching, and Jace felt completely immersed in the red head, and the wolf inside him was practically purring with how happy he was right now. "You're...You're unlike anyone I've ever met Clary. And I..." he paused for a moment before taking in a deep breath through his nose and tipped his head down so that their noses brushed together. "I love you, Clary."

And then there it was.

A completely unfiltered flood of happiness, and a smile so bright that it was almost blinding.

Jace couldn't stop himself, he leaned back in and caught her mouth, and there was absolutely no resistance from her this time. In fact, Clary lifted herself up on her tip toes, one of her legs shifting and twining it's way around his thigh. This kiss wasn't just their lips coming together like it had been the last time. This time, with the way the red head seemed to be trying to climb him, the way she so unabashedly let out a whimper when one of his hands moved lower and lower on her back, Jace knew that he had the go ahead for _so much_ more.

So he claimed her mouth, sinking his teeth into her lower lip and tugging at it, and Clary made another whimpering noise, her arms tightening around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. Jace dropped his hands so that they gripped her hips, and he picked her up. Clary made a surprised sound, pulling away from his mouth to let out a short laugh as she shifted her grip around his neck, and then wrapped her legs around his waist, locking them at the base of his spine.

Jace knew that his eyes were flickering between gold and red, and from the way that Clary was shifting, rubbing the centre of her legs against his torso, he knew that she was just as aroused as he was. He kept his eyes open as he kissed her, not wanting to miss a single micro-expression that flickered across her face, or the way that her eyes rolled backwards when his tongue searched out the tips of her teeth and traced the top of her mouth.

"Bedroom," Clary panted at one point, tugging at the neck of his shirt, her pupils blown and her chest heaving up and down.

"Yeah," Jace knew that his eyes were blatantly glowing scarlet now, at the idea of climbing into bed— _her bed_ —with her. That was something that he had avoided for so long, even when he and a few of the other pack fell asleep at Clary's place, he was always careful never to sleep in her bed, always opting for the couch, because he wasn't sure if he would have been able to stop himself if he was that close to her most intimate room.

"And if you even think about being all gentle with me because I'm human, I'll fucking kick your ass," Clary hissed at him as he carried her into the bedroom, and it was everything he could do to stop his wolf from snarling in pleasure.

He knew that she was perfect for him.

And she just proved it over and over again.

Jace manhandled her onto the bed, laying her down and then stripping her quickly but carefully, because he knew that she wouldn't be happy with him if he ripped any of her clothes. Her underwear and bra were mismatched and adorable—a navy blue bra with little white polka dots and a pair of green underwear with a little bow—and he took a moment to just drink it in, how incredible she looked, her chest flushed and heaving and her lips reddened from his kisses.

"Bit unfair if I'm the only one who has lost their clothes," Clary arched an eyebrow at him, licking her lips slowly as she pointedly gave him a once over. Jace smirked at her before dropping off his jacket and then tugging off his long sleeved shirt. He could hear her heartbeat just getting faster and faster as he slid down his zipper, and when he was left in front of her in just his tight black briefs, it was so fast he could barely distinguish one beat from the next. The minute his briefs were on the ground, Clary was pulling herself up onto her knees to reach for him, dragging him onto the bed and pushing their bodies together. Her mouth began an assault on his chest, teeth biting at his pecs and at his nipples and slowly down his stomach.

"Shit," Jace grunted as she got closer to his cock, one of her hands digging her nails into the meat of his strong thigh. "Okay, I can't do that right now," he wrapped a handful of hair around his fist and pulled her head backwards. Clary's eyelids fluttered slightly at the tug but then opened her eyes again and looked up at him.

"Never known a guy to turn that down," she teased, although her voice was thick, so the tone was hardly picked up.

"Well, most guys haven't been waiting years just to taste those lips that they're close to exploding just after a couple of kisses," Jace retorted, and Clary rolled her eyes, but her cheeks went even pinker. Jace stole another kiss from her mouth, his tongue twisting with hers, her scent and her taste intoxicating him, setting his blood on fire. He pushed backwards, crawling on his knees onto the bed before he had managed to maneuver them so that he was sitting with his back against the pillows, shoulders against the headboard. Clary looped her arms behind her back, unlatching her bra, and then she kicked off her underwear before straddling his thighs.

"Always thought you would be the kinda guy who wanted to be on top," Clary quirked an eyebrow as he encouraged her hips forward until she was positioned right over him.

"Thought about this often, have you?" Jace lips curled upward, and Clary narrowed her eyes at him. He grinned widely before pulling open her bedside table and fumbling around for a moment before finding a condom.

"How did you know they were in there?" Clary asked.

"Max sometimes steals them from you," Jace stated. "I found him with a couple and asked where he got them from."

"Little bastard," Clary muttered as Jace ripped off the edge of the condom wrapper and rolled it over his cock. They both froze for a moment, eyes glued to each other. The casual conversation while in such a compromising position just oozed domesticity, and that was a little bit too familiar for their first time together. They seemed to decide simultaneously—silently—to just quickly move on, because Jace bucked his hips upward, filing Clary's tight heat where she was braced over him and sending her sprawling forward, hands grabbing onto his shoulders as the breath was knocked from her lungs. "Oh, shit," Clary gasped out as she buried her face in his neck.

"You feel so good, Clary," Jace managed to say through gritted teeth as he pounded into her, one hand at her lower back with the other splayed further upward, feeling her silky skin beneath his touch. It was almost impossible to stop his fangs from dropping and biting down hard into the soft skin of her shoulder. Instead, he nuzzled Clary's neck to the side, nose moving upward, just under her ear, where her scent was the strongest and his eyes were bleeding red. He was pushing into her so hard that his thighs were slapping against her ass, and her pale skin must have been burning with heat.

"God," Clary's arms were twined around his shoulders, her body jolting upward every time he thrust into her, and one of her hands was pulling at his hair. Jace knew his claws were scratching at her, not hard enough to draw blood but enough for her to know that it definitely wasn't his human fingernails rasping down her back, but she didn't say anything. In fact, she started rocking her hips downward to meet his thrusts, which were becoming more and more frantic. Her scent was getting stronger and she was beginning to tighten around him, and Jace's fangs dropped as the tension in his body tightened almost beyond the point of being able to bear. "Fuck, yes," Clary mumbled, and Jace was confused for a moment whens he moved a little to the side, before he realized that she was tipping her head to the side, exposing her neck to him, completely trusting him and his werewolf side to her vulnerable throat.

"Shit," Jace's words were slurred, and the act of her blatant faith in him, even though he himself was finding it difficult to control his wolf around her, was enough to send his orgasm crashing through him. He let his fangs scrape over her skin, and the feeling of her walls fluttering around him and her arousal suddenly rushing out combined with the scent of his own come smelt so good twisted together in the room.

It took a while for them to get their breath back, but then after cleaning up, Clary wound her naked body around him, smothering him with her scent, letting him bury his face in her neck.

It was everything he needed.

 _Yesterday was World Mental Health Day, or today is that day for a lot of you, the 10th._

 _Please be kind to each other, people have so much going on in their heads that just isn't obvious from the outside._

 _Much love xx_


	19. Chapter 19

_Hey guys :) So this is my last update of the year. I've got quite a lengthy A/N below, but in case you guys don't want to read my droning on and on, then I want to wish you guys a safe and a happy holidays and I will be back next year xxx_

 _Also, I have posted several new stories, including a werewolf one called_ Put Your Heart On Mine, _and a biker one,_ Wrong Side Of A Parallel Universe _. I definitely have my favourite AU's. Haha. So check those out :)_

Jace woke up first in the morning, and for a split second, he thought that he was still dreaming, because the instant he woke up he became aware of a warm body sprawled across his chest and red hair tickling his chin, and his own scent was mingled together with Clary's and it was heavy in the room. But then he realized he hadn't been dreaming, that this was most definitely happening, and a smile spread across his face, his heart feeling as though it was skipping beats given how fast it was beating.

But after a couple of minutes of enjoying the feel and smell of Clary next to him, and the way her naked skin felt under the touch of his fingertips where his hand was resting at the base of her spine, panic started to set in. Sure, they had admitted the way they had felt last night, and he had said that he wanted them to be together, and it wasn't as though he doubted Clary, but that meant a lot.

Clary woke up to the feeling of Jace's heart thudding under her ear, and she could feel how tightly strung his body was. He was worrying, over-thinking things, she knew that without even looking up at his face. She rolled away from him so that she could stretch, pointing her toes and arching her back and reaching her arms above her head. When she slumped back onto the mattress and turned her head back to Jace, who was watching her carefully.

"Hey," she gave him a soft smile as she wiggled upwards so that she was resting on her pillow, tucking one of her arms underneath it.

"Hey," Jace was trying to look as though he was relaxed, but she could see the tension at the corners of his lips. Clary reached out a hand and rested it on his chest, her fingers spreading out and gently pressing against him.

"What's wrong?" Clary whispered to him.

"I'm just..." he clicked his tongue against his teeth as he drew in a deep breath. "I'm just trying to figure out what we're doing going forward."

"Well," Clary raised herself up on her elbows and looked down at him. "We can do this however you'd like, you're the Alpha here, and they're your pack." There was a twinge of pride inside Jace at the title coming from Clary's mouth, his wolf happy with the way she said that. "We don't need to make it some big thing, I don't think—" she paused and let out a short laugh. "I don't think anyone is going to be particularly surprised, given how long they've been trying to push me to do something."

"Yup," Jace gave her a wry smile. "Me too." Clary stared down at him, and Jace lifted a couple of fingers to touch her face, tracing her lips and then the apple of her cheek, over her eyebrows before twining his fingers through strands of her hair. She tipped her head to the side to follow his touch, and Jace shifted his hand so that his thumb rubbed circles on her cheek. It felt so good to touch her so casually, his fingers learning her face that he had been staring at for so long. "That doesn't mean I'm still not worried though," he commented, his voice low.

"Hey," Clary's eyes had been going half lidded, relaxing into his touch, but they widened to look at him properly now. "Just because I'm human doesn't mean I can't look after myself. I've learnt a whole lot more since you werewolves became permanent fixtures in my life." Jace gave her a soft smile.

"You don't need to tell me how strong you are," Jace's grip in her tightened, and the thumb on her cheek stilled. "I know how strong you are. You run with us, fight with us—you stand by our side even though you're more breakable than us." When she had been asleep, stretched out over him, he had caught glimpses of faint bruises on her back, which he knew he would have inflicted when they had been having sex last night. He didn't feel guilty about them—Clary had wanted him to be rougher with her, and he liked that he had left a mark—but it was still a stark reminder as to how she didn't heal like he did.

"That's because I can look after myself," Clary murmured. "And when I can't...I know that you've got my back." Jace liked the sound of that, the fact that she trust him with her life, and that she clearly supported him. Obviously she could read that on his face because she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth. It was close mouthed and just a light pressure on his lips, but it still made the pair of them giddy that they could just _do that_ now. Jace leaned up into the kiss, letting his hand move to cup the back of her head and pulling her in harder against him. After a minute or so, Clary pulled back with a laugh. "Super healing powers or not, your morning breath is just as bad as mine." Jace laughed and let her flop back down on the bed next to him, throwing her arms above her head on the pillow.

"Bitch," he grunted at her, but there was affection showing on his face. He rolled over, his thighs straddling her slim legs as he buried his face into her neck and drawing in a deep breath. "God, I want this, I want you," she felt his tongue flick out over her collarbone and her body jerked upward. There was a slight snick of his fangs dropping from his gums and scratched lightly over the curve of her neck. Clary shivered as she felt his nose tracing up and down her neck, nudging her chin upward so that her head was tipped backwards and he had access to the rest of her throat. The scent was always strongest at the neck, and Jace felt his vision blurring red as Clary's incredible fragrance of love and home washed over him. The fact that their odors were twisted together in the air and the blankets and on her skin was making him hard again, but he swallowed it down so that he could take his time scenting her.

"You having fun there?" Clary obviously meant to tease him, but even if he couldn't smell the faint waves of arousal that were beginning to roll off her body, the breathless way that she spoke told him that she was affected by what he was doing.

"You've got no idea how many years I've wanted to mark up this neck," Jace said by way of response, his voice husky as he bit down lightly and sucked, Clary's breath catching in her perfect throat. She made a noise that sounded faintly like a whine as he licked over the spot before pulling back and looking at the red mark he had made. He was talking a whole lot more than he usually did, and it was probably the emotions that were running high, and the bubble that they were in right now, and Clary didn't doubt that he would fade back to his usual stoic self once they left her room, but for now, she was quite enjoying this side of Jace.

"And all this time..." she paused again as he moved to the other side of her neck, nuzzling her gently and biting down softly on the porcelain skin. "I just thought it was a scenting thing, because I was part of the pack..." she broke off again as he reached her ear and his teeth pulled lightly on the shell. "That you liked touching my neck," she managed to finish her sentence when he finally pulled back and looked at his work. There was darkened skin at where her shoulder and neck met, a hickey from where he had sucked last night when they had had sex, and then her throat was covered in possessive red splotches that made his lip tick upward on one side.

"You know it's for that reason as well," Jace answered softly. "You know how important that is for weres." Clary nodded, because even though _she_ didn't totally get it, she had been part of this pack long enough now to know how possessive they all were of each other, and how important it was that they all smelt like each other. She was pretty sure that because she was human it was even more important to the pack that _she_ smelt like the were's, marking her as important and protected. "But it was also because the closest I could get to doing what I really want," he let out a low growl in his throat as he leaned in and dipped his nose down to nudge against hers.

"You and your big macho Alpha routine," Clary sighed out, not sounding at all bothered as Jace blanketed himself over her, pinning her between his body and the bed. She smelt happy and content and it made Jace happier than he had been in a long time. Suddenly, she tensed up and let out a hiss through her teeth. The chemosignals coming off her didn't change too much, but her thoughts had clearly shifted.

"What is it?" Jace asked, but he refused to lift his head from where it was smushed against Clary.

"The rest of the pack," she muttered. "They already call me their pack mum..." Jace let out a snort. "Now they're _really_ gonna drive that nickname home."

"I don't care," Jace mumbled, tightening his arms around her, and Clary grinned, falling quiet, snuggling into his embrace.

 _So usually this is the point where I tell you guys some movies and songs that I'm super into. Since this is my last post, I had some other things I wanted to say. But I did see the new_ Halloween _movie, and_ The House With A Clock In Its Walls _and_ Venom _, and they were all good, although Venom was a bit of a let down. Also, anyone else a GallaVich supporter? I stopped watching_ Shameless _a few seasons ago, when it started spiraling, but holy shit, tumblr when crazy with the reunion, and that totally made my day. It was amaaaazing. These two boys deserve each other, and I'm so glad they got a very...fitting send off :)_

 _Right, well..._

 _This year has been hard. I feel this year has been bad for everyone. There have been the numerous mass shootings, it feels as though there is just one natural disaster after another and there is the continual, completely legitimate distrust of authorities who are meant to be the ones protecting us. There are so many things that I could write in here and specifically comment on, but I don't want to make this a political statement, just a statement that wherever we are in the world, we are all struggling. At the moment, by heart goes out to the people of Brazil, all people in the Jewish community and to the beautiful LGBTQA members of the world, especially the transgender community, and specifically those in America._

 _There have been good things as well, though! The rescue of the boys in Thailand, the proud, unapologetic statement that Colin Kaepernick's Nike campaign made, the decriminalization of homosexuality in India, the incredible organisation and unity in the March For Our Lives and the utter love and support shown by so many people in this world toward one another. This was just demonstrated yet again in the past few days with the non profit Muslim organisations who set up the online funding for those in the Jewish community affected by this one of the most recent horrific attacks._

 _This year has also been hard for myself personally, as I'm sure some of you are aware from my posts. My mental health is probably the worst it's ever been, I'm dealing with some relationship issues with my husband, I lost the friendship of someone that I considered very close after a betrayal that left me spinning and over the past few months, it's been the one year anniversary of the deaths of three people, who all died within a month of each other. I consider myself pretty open with you guys about my problems, and a big reason for that is because I know how lonely this huge world can feel sometimes. I just hope that with me putting myself out there, if you guys are dealing with something similar, then hopefully you know you're not alone. While I don't always have the best words, if any of you ever want to PM me just to get things off your chest, I'm here. I don't always know what to say, but sometimes just putting your problems into words can help, and I am more than happy to be that person for any of you xx_

 _Alright._

 _Well._

 _That was all very intense, but I felt it was necessary. I'm sorry if it felt as though I was crossing a line with any of it, but that's why I said at the top that if you didn't want to read all of this, just read by first authors note!_

 _Anyway._

 _I hope every single one of you has a safe and incredible and happy holidays with the people you love the most, and I will be back next year, probably early February. Here's to a better next year xx_


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, my beautiful, wonderful readers! It's early February, so as promised, here's an update! I hope you guys have had an amazing past few months, and I hope you're still interested in these stories! Just a quick heads up that I've uploaded some oneshots, and I do still have a couple to post, but I had so many requests to update my multi-chapters, so I thought I would update these before continuing with my editing, so there are some more to come!**

 **Anyway, here we go...**

From the instant that Jace stepped foot back in the house, they all knew that he and Clary had slept together. The smell of the pair of them twined together, along with leftover scents of _other things,_ were mixed together on Jace's skin. Isabelle approached him with a tentative smile on her face, but eyebrows arched suspiciously.

"Is this a good thing?" She asked bluntly. "Tell me this is a good fucking thing, and you didn't just sleep with her and then get out of there without talking to her."

"I've been gone all night and then all day," Jace raised an eyebrow at the beta. "I think it's pretty clear there was at least _some_ talking involved." Isabelle smirked as she took in an exaggerated sniff.

"Oh, I don't know, I'm not smelling a whole lot of talking on you," she mocked lightly and Jace rolled his eyes. He made to get past her, knowing that he smelt strongly and he should probably take a shower. He didn't want to, he loved the fact that he smelt like Clary, but to be fair to the rest of the houses sensitive noses, he knew he needed to go upstairs. He made it up to the second floor and almost too his bedroom before Jem and Max both blocked his path.

"Does this mean that Clary's going to be coming back?" Max practically demanded.

"She'll be back," Jace nodded.

"And we can go over there without..." Jem trailed off before clearing his throat and continuing. "And we can go over there?" He repeated. Jace tilted his head to the side, looking between the two young boys, and then over their shoulders to where Maia was standing with Sammy on her hip.

"You can _always_ go over there, Jem," Jace said quietly, reaching out to squeeze the side of the boys neck. "Anything that happens between me and Clary doesn't affect you, doesn't change your relationship with her. She will always be pack, and she's always going to want you guys around." The relief shone in Jem's eyes and he jerked his head in a nod, leaning into Jace's touch for a moment before the two younger boys continued down the stairs. Jace waited at his doorway as Maia approached, a small smile on the womans face, and Sammy was giving him a gummy smile as well, waving her arms around.

"They worry about disappointing you," she murmured as she reached up to push Jace's hair away from his face in a motherly fashion. "Jem didn't want to go over to her place while you guys were having your lovers tiff because he felt as though he would be choosing her over you." The loyalty of his pack always made Jace's chest tighten with pride, although he felt upset that it was his fault his pack felt as though they needed to choose.

"Well," Jace reached out to touch his finger gently to Sammy's cheek, and the little girl giggled, swiping out with one of her hands toward her Alpha, gripping his finger in her little hand. "I think things are going to smooth out now."

"Oh, I hope so," Maia wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Although, you know they're never going to be completely smooth when you two are involved, not with how stubborn you both are. She's not going to care that you two are together now, or whatever it is you're doing. She'll still tell you if you're doing something she doesn't like or approve of." Jace just smiled at her, leaning forward to give her a kiss on the cheek before going into his bedroom.

He wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

It was two days before Clary came by the house, which definitely made Jace ache to see her, but he gave her her space, knowing that it was going to be an adjustment, even if things weren't going to change too much on the outside. When her car pulled up outside, Jace, Isabelle, Maia and Sammy were all in the lounge, and Sammy practically flew across the room to the door, smacking at it with the palms of her hands. She was just starting to walk, usually no more than a couple of wobbling steps, and she so when she wanted to get somewhere quicker, she returned to her hands and knees. The whole pack was used to Sammy situating herself behind doors, so Clary was careful when opening the front door, looking down at the little girl.

"Hey, darling girl," Clary cooed, a smile practically breaking her face in half as she managed to open the door and crouch down to pick up Sammy. Sammy made a punch of gurgling, practically unintelligible noises, the name ' _Ree_ ' squealed in the middle of it somewhere, the toddlers attempt at the name 'Clary'. Clary kissed the girl on the forehead and the cheek, and the little girl nestled up against the red head, her eyes glowing a faint gold as she didn't even try to mask the fact she was scenting Clary. As werewolves got older, they learnt to be a lot more subtle when it came to scenting, but Sammy was still young, and all she knew was that Clary was a part of her pack that she hadn't been around in a week, so she was instinctively trying to cover Clary in her own unique scent.

"You're back!" Isabelle was next to greet her, grinning wide as she wrapped Clary in a hug, Sammy carefully squished between them. She rubbed her cheek against Clary, spreading her own scent, and then rolling her eyes when her gaze dipped downward.

"What?" Clary frowned.

"Wow, man," Isabelle laughed as she stepped away from Clary and looked over her shoulder at her Alpha. "Not trying to be subtle at all there." Clary seemed to instantly know what she was talking about because her cheeks flushed red. The shirt she was wearing had a high collar, covering most of the marks around her neck, but they were still faintly there, inching above the material of her shirt. Jace didn't say anything, but the tips of his ears went pink as he got up from the couch. Clary swallowed nervously, wondering what Jace was going to do, now that they were officially 'together'. But all Jace did was touch her cheek briefly with the tips of his fingers and give her a soft look before heading toward the kitchen. It was enough, though, because even Sammy seemed to be giving her a wiggle of her little eyebrows.

"Well," Maia got off the couch and came over to where the three girls were. "That was adorable."

"Shut up," Clary muttered, giving Sammy a kiss on the side of her head.

"There's definitely going to be a conversation—a _lengthy_ conversation—but it's going to be when we're not in a house surrounded by a bunch of other ears," Isabelle poked Clary in the side. Clary opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off when three other werewolves stormed into the lounge and practically tackled Clary up against the wall, giving Maia barely any time to rescue Sammy.

"You smell weird!"

"She's smells like Jace."

"Oh right, coz they're together now."

"Shut up, you're making this whole thing weird."

"Can you _both_ just shut up?!" Alec growled, and Max and Jem both fell silent. Clary hid her laugh in Jem's floppy mop of black hair with it's cute little silver streak. Alec towered over Clary and the other two werewolves, resting his chin on top of Clary's head, and the red head smiled against his muscular chest. After a few minutes, it was getting a bit suffocating, but even after Alec and Max pulled back, Jem was still holding on like a limpet. Max smirked as he waved his finger at his own neck.

"You got a little something there," he teased Clary, and she just narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oi!" Jace called from where he was standing at the bench, helping Isabelle with the food. "Max! Jem! Come over here and start setting the table for dinner. We're eating out on the deck tonight." Max leaned forward to give Clary a quick kiss on the cheek before skipping off, Jem taking a little bit longer, still rubbing his cheek against Clary's, giving her waist one more squeeze before leaving.

"We missed you," Alec stated, his voice practically devoid of emotion, although that was normal of Alec to remain stoic. Him just saying that wasn't a common thing, and Clary gave him a small smile.

"I missed you all too," she answered truthfully.

Dinner was relatively normal, loud and a bit messy, but then there were the looks that the were's kept shooting at both Jace and Clary that weren't nearly as subtle as they thought they were. They were all eating out on the back deck, the sun setting and the air was crisp and fresh, and it would have felt perfect if the pack wasn't examining the Alpha and the red head through lowered eyelashes. And the pair weren't even sitting next to each other, Jace was at the head of the table while Clary was near the other end, between Maia and Simon, and so whenever a member of the pack was looking from one of them to the other, they physically had to turn their head, and it was pretty obvious.

Another thing that was obvious was the way that they had missed her, given the werewolves were leaning in to touch her at any possible moment. Their fingers against her hand, or their arm around her shoulders, or more blatantly, touching her neck and scenting her.

"Just so you all know, I don't need super senses to know that you're all being creepy," Clary stated as she got up from the table and walked over to where Sammy was in her high chair, looking more than ready to get out and stretch her legs. "So I'm going to hang out with the only normal one out of all of you, and shes the one that still sucks on her toes." Jace hid his smirk as he picked up his glass of water as Clary picked up Sammy and walked down the steps to the backyard to play with the toddler.

 **Right! So, here's the super, super long A/N—sorry! I had a great Christmas and New Years time, not really doing much, just spending time at the beach and with my husband and with some of best friends. This year has started well, there's been a few bad days, but hey, happens to everyone. I hope your year has started just as good, and you spent it with family and friends if that's what you prefer, and that you spent it alone and quiet if that's what you prefer.**

 **I wanted to say that I managed to get around to most of peoples oneshots, at least the ones that struck a chord with me because some of prompts just aren't the type that I can write, and I had fun with the ones I wrote! You can still send me prompts or requests through the year, and I try and get to them near the end of the year when I focus on oneshots. Can be in a huge variety of fandoms, just ask me :)**

 **On with the recommendations!**

 **TV Shows: _Roswell: New Mexico_. Well. I loooved the original series, even if I can see a lot of flaws in it when watching it now back to when I was a teenager. I'm enjoying the reboot so far, I really like the change up in Liz, and Michael's relationship with Alex. I love that Tyler Blackburn from Pretty Little Liars is in it, and Michael Trevino from Vampire Diaries, because he was one of my favourite characters from VD. Anyway. Fingers crossed it goes well. And I intensely ship Max/Liz already, and not because I know they're supposed to get together, but because I love their chemistry, which is more than the original series, at least for my side. Oh and _The Runaways_ Season 2! I liked Gert a lot more in this one. Ooh, and _Sex Education_. That show is absolutely brilliant. Like, insanely brilliant. I'm so glad it's been renewed for another season. I also started watching _The Following_ for the hundredth time because this show is amazing.**

 **Music: _6 Figures_ by Kings, _Run Away With Me_ by Carly Rae Jepsen, _Old News_ by Mitch James, _Wasted_ by Jesse McCartney and _Bad_! by XXXTENTACION. Ooh, and _Saturday Nights_ by Khalid, _Bury A Friend_ by Billie Eilish and _Wild Enough_ by Elina.**

 **Movies: _Tomb Raider_ , which I watched for the second time the other week and I quite enjoyed it, a lot more than the first time I watched it. Alicia Vikander is a babe. Also _How To Train Your Dragon 3_. Holy shit. I knew this one was going to get me in the feels, but I didn't expect to cry twice. It was beautiful. Also the new _Robin Hood._ Maybe I'm biased because I love Taron Egerton, but I didn't think it was anywhere near as bad as what the reviews said. I know it wasn't great, but I still enjoyed it, and Marian was a badass.**

 **Now, I've got some questions! Thought I'd change things up a little this year.**

 **So; what is your favourite song right now? Mine would be a tie between _Run Away With Me_ by Carley Rae Jepsen and _Back To Life_ by Hailee Steinfield.**

 **What is...Your favourite movie that you've seen recently? Mine would be _Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse_.**

 **Aaaand what is your favourite fandom to read in? For me it would be a tie between the DC fandom and _Harry Potter_ right now, although it changes frequently.**

 **Talk to me, let me know what you thought and answer the questions if you feel inclined to!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey, beauties! I'm back for the second update of the year! Sorry, I meant for it to be sooner, but I have had a fucking full on past six weeks or so. There's been quite a few big events that have happened, a couple not to so great, but things are balancing back out. The biggest thing was a high speed car crash that me and my husband were in, but luckily, no one was hurt too badly. There were good things too, though, I've been to a few concerts, the highlights were Eminem and Drax Project. I think this is the first weekend I feel back on my feet, so I though it was the time to update!**

 **I hope everyone's start of the year is going well, and I hope you enjoy the chapter :)**

Clary went home some time around eleven, deciding not to stay the night at the house because she wasn't too sure what was expected of her if she did that, and she wasn't quite ready for that. She knew that she _wanted_ to spend the night in bed with Jace again, and possibly try a couple of _other things_ that they hadn't gotten around to a few nights ago. And the bedrooms were all sound proofed, so she knew that the other were's in the house wouldn't be able to hear. But everyone else would just _know_ what they were doing, and she and Jace had been keeping their distance from each other for so long, it felt weird to just jump into things so casually.

Besides, despite complaining to Jace about how the pack saw her as their 'mum' half the time, she knew that they definitely looked up to her, and she felt a responsibility _not_ to rush into things with Jace. She didn't want them to feel uncomfortable, like all of a sudden her and Jace were together, and they just had to accept it.

Although none of them seemed to have any problems, not with the way they all looked at the pair of them out of the corners of their eyes with knowing smiles. And when Clary had left last night, she had said goodbye just like she always had to each of the were's, but then Jace had walked her down to her car. He had put one arm up against her car and pressed his body against her, giving her a slow, deep kiss goodbye. When they had pulled apart, Clary's heart was beating stupidly fast, and she rolled her eyes when she heard wolf whistles coming from inside. Jace had just grinned and shaken his head.

"You gonna go see your new _maaaan_ tonight?" Lydia sung out as they packed up the bags of the last few children who were waiting for their parents to come by.

"Uh," Clary looked over at Lucy, who was chewing on the end of the crayon that she was drawing with. Clary gave the little girl a look, and she pulled the blue crayon out of her mouth and gave Clary a guilty smile before going back to her drawing. Lucy had a habit of chewing on _anything_ that she managed to get her hands onto, which also sometimes included Clary's hair when she was holding the girl.

"Clary?" Lydia prompted.

"Right," Clary straightened up as she zipped up Lucy's bag and rested it on the table. "Um, no, I don't think so."

"Why not?" Lydia's eyes went wide. "Why would you not be going over there and—" she lowered her voice so that three children who were sitting on the mat near them couldn't hear. "And getting it on?" She whispered and Clary laughed, shaking her head. "If it had taken me years to end up with someone as beautiful as that man, you wouldn't be able to drag me away!" Clary let out a laugh and shook her head.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I mean...It's not that we're taking it slow, exactly, just...Being careful."

"I guess that's understandable," Lydia gave her a small smile. "Given how close your whole pack is. If something goes wrong between you two...It's going to throw everyone off." Clary narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"Yes, Lydia. Thank you for just adding to how nervous I _already am_ about this," she stated, and Lydia just gave her a bright smile.

"No problem," Lydia grinned before both woman looked toward the door where a the last few parents were coming to the door to pick up their children. Clary spoke with the parents for a couple of minutes, ruffling Conrad Jensen's hair as he toddled out the door, clutching his Hulk toy that he had barely been separate from in the past few weeks. Lydia finished off the cleaning in the kitchen, and then both girls started on the vacuuming, taking two opposite ends of the building and making their way toward the middle. They had forced Helen to go home early, given a couple of their kids had gotten picked up earlier than usual, and Aline had mentioned a few days ago that her wife hadn't been sleeping the best with the baby kicking.

"Alright," Clary let out a breath once they had finished, swiping a hand over her forehead as she looked around the daycare. "Don't you love that this place takes hours to clean, and they're just going to destroy the place in five minutes?"

"They're lucky they're cute," Lydia laughed and Clary nodded. "Anyway, we ready to head out?"

"Yup," Clary agreed. They put away their cleaning gear and grabbed their bags. Lydia double checked the windows while Clary locked the sliding doors that lead into the outdoor playing area, and then both girls headed toward the front door. They looked up and talked quietly as they walked toward their cars, Lydia laughing when Clary recounted how one of their kids had told another girl that she was planning on marrying Eugene from _Tangled_ when she was older. They both went quiet when they reached their car and saw a young, dark haired man leaning against Clary's car.

"I'll leave you to it," Lydia gave her a quick smile, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. Clary stopped in front of Jem, tipping her head to the side.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hi," Jem smiled, but there was something a bit off about it. Clary glanced around, figuring that standing there in front of the brightly coloured play centre probably wasn't the best place to have whatever conversation Jem wanted.

"Come on," she jerked her head. "Let's go back to my place." Jem gave her a grateful smile, waiting as Clary unlocked her car and then got in. They were quiet on the way, letting Clary's stereo fill the silence. When they got back to Clary's place, Jem lead the way up the path, using his own key to unlock the door and let them inside. "You hungry? You want something to eat?" Jem shook his head and Clary nodded, putting down her bag on the kitchen and settling on the couch. She didn't have to be a werewolf to sense that something was wrong, so she sat down on the couch and made herself comfortable, before holding out one of her arms. "Come here," she murmured and Jem practically scrambled over the back of the couch and curled up beside her. "Tell me what's going on."

"I was—" Jem broke off and Clary lifted an eyebrow, and a split second later the front door opened. Magnus and Alec came through the front door, and they were carrying two plastic bags full of food that smelt amazing.

"Hey!" Clary gave them a surprised look. "What's going on?"

"We went, like, a week without seeing you, given this whole mess that you've been needing to sort through with Jace," Magnus stated as he put down his bag on the kitchen bench. "So now we're making up for it." Alec just shrugged behind his boyfriend as he put down his own bag on the kitchen and then moved around the table to pull out plates and cups, completely at home in the red heads kitchen.

"Is that what this is?" Clary looked carefully over at Jem, who didn't look bothered by the intrusion from the two older men.

"Something like that," Jem shrugged one soulder, but she still felt like there was something more that he wasn't saying. Clary licked her lips as she thought quickly and then looked over his head, back toward the kitchen.

"If you guys are staying, do you think that you could do me a favor and go down to the liquor store and get me a bottle of that Riesling that I love so much?" Clary asked, lifting an eyebrow at the two and giving them a grin. Alec looked over at her with and Magnus let out an exaggerated groan.

"But we just got here!" He attempted to protest but Clary just let her eyebrows fall back down and narrow her eyes slightly. "Fine, fine, but we'll go out again," he grumbled and let his shoulders slump. Alec didn't look particularly happy, but he nodded in agreement, and soon they were bustling out of the house just as quickly as they had arrived. The liquor store wasn't far enough away that the food would go cold, but it would give Clary and Jem at least a little bit of privacy to talk. She tightened her arms around Jem, tugging him in closer to her body and smiling when she felt him rubbing his cheek against her arm.

"What's going on?" Clary murmured in his ear.

"If something happens between you and Jace..." Jem began, and Clary knew that her body tighten a little, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. "You know with werewolves...You know it's harder for them to get over someone. Relationships are more serious...And you're part of the pack..." Clary let out a long breath through her nose and cuddled Jem closer, soothing her hands up and down his arms.

"I might be human, but give me a little credit, yeah?" Clary teased him lightly. "I've been around you lot long enough to know what it's like." She felt uncomfortable even _mentioning_ her relationship with Jace given it had literally only just begun and he was the Alpha, and she wasn't sure how he wanted to approach it with his pack. "Me and Jace...I've liked him for a long time."

"You can say that again," Jem snorted with a cheeky smile and Clary jabbed him with the tips of her fingers.

"My point is," she continue. "That this thing between the two of us is new, but it's still serious. And it would never change how I feel about the rest of the pack—how I feel about you." Jem nodded slowly and Clary gave him another squeeze. "Just relax, okay? This isn't something that you need to worry about." Jem seemed soothed by that and a moment later, he followed his nose over to the kitchen and opened the bags. "I knew you were lying about being hungry! You werewolves are _always_ hungry." Jem just grinned as he started piling the food onto plates as they waited for Magnus and Alec to get back.

 **Down to my recommendations! _AM_ by One Direction, which I will always love. _Chasing Ghosts_ by Against The Current, _How Could I Forget_ by MKTO, _Woke Up Late_ by Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfield, and _Leave Me Lonely_ by Hilltop Hoods. Also _Cosby Sweater_ by Hilltop Hoods. An _Whatchamacallit_ by Ella Mai featuring Chris Brown. Ooh, and also _Before I Go_ by Guy Sebastian, which was suggested to me by a guest, and I love, so a big thank you to that guest!**

 **In the TV series/movies area...Hm, _Tidelands_ which is on Netflix. I really enjoyed that, and I hope there's a second season. _Body Guard_ , even though my husband now randomly shouts out, " _Vicky! I'm innocent!"_ at the most inappropriate time. _Queen of the South_ which is absolutely incredible. Holy shit incredible and recommended to all. _Umbrella Academy_ as well, my holy trinity is Klaus, Diego and Ben. Loved them. I have incredibly mixed feelings about Vanya and Luthur can suck a dick. Haven't seen many movies recently, although I'm in the middle of _Molly's Game_ right now and it's pretty good. I preferred _Miss Sloane_ , but this is still good.**

 **Now, down to my questions...**

 **Well, well, well.**

 **Okay—what is the first song you remember learning? Not _Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star_ or the _ABC's_ or anything, but the first pop or rock song. Mine was _Who Let The Dogs Out._ Hahahaha. I came home from school one day singing it when I was about five or six, and my parents didn't believe me until it came on the radio.**

 **Who is someone that you would love to see in concert? I have so many, but I think the ones at the top would be The Pretty Reckless, In This Moment, Camila Cabello, Demi Lovato, Lady Gaga and Louis Tomlinson.**

 **And...Hm...Who is a celebrity that you have changed your mind about? Either you really liked and now you don't, or didn't like and now you do? Mine would be Bella Thorne, I used to find her really annoying and a bit trashy, but now I love her, including all her trashiness. And I used to really like Chris Pratt, and now I really don't.**

 **Okay!**

 **Let me know what you think, and let me know if you want a preview xx**


	22. Chapter 22

The full moon was on a Friday this month, which meant both Max and Jem were out of school. The boys were in control enough that they could be around other people during the day, before the moon was high in the sky, but the days leading up to the full moon still meant that their senses were heightened and school could become overwhelming. So Jace always called into the school—or had Isabelle or Maia call—to give them the actual day off if it landed on week day. Alec, Simon, Isabelle and Maia all went to work, but most of the time they arrangement it so that they could finish early, same with Magnus, so that they could all be back at the house with one another from the afternoon onward.

It had been two weeks since Jace and Clary were officially 'together', and despite both of their concerns, nothing terrible had happened. Of course, Clary had to keep reminding herself that even though it felt as though so much had changed, it hadn't actually been that long.

There had been sex.

There had been _a lot_ of sex.

Jace spent a couple of nights through the week at Clary's house, and she was absolutely _exhausted_ the next day at work. Lydia, Helen and Aline teased her relentless about it through the day, clearly knowing what was up even though she was careful to hide any hickeys or suspicious bruises. They hadn't had sex at the pack house yet, because Clary still couldn't shake the feeling that everyone would just _know_ and it would be weird the next morning. She knew that that _wasn't_ going to happen, because the rooms were sound proof, and there was undoubtedly sex going on a whole lot of the time that she had been in the house and it was normal, but it felt strange. It felt like when she was back in high school and fooling around with a guy and trying to be super quiet to hide it from her mum.

Another thing with their sex life was that she knew Jace had been holding back since the first night. It was great—more than great, it was _amazing_ —and a lot of that had to do with the fact it was _Jace_. But despite her order to not go easy on her because of her human status, since the first night when they had gotten together, there hadn't been any burning red eyes, or bites to her skin, or scratches of his claws down her back or on her thighs.

It was something that she was going to need to bring up soon, because she loved _all_ of Jace—his human _and_ his wolf.

"Shit," Jordan let out a whistle through his teeth and shook his head from side to side. "Doesn't matter how many full moons we go through, I can't get over how much you all eat." Clary grinned over at the other human before looking at the long table where the werewolves were eating so quickly that it was as though they were inhaling the food. Even little Sammy ate more than Clary and Jordan put together. Magnus was also watching in amusement, one hand palm upward as a blue ball of energy floated just a few inches above his hand.

It was getting later, as it got closer to seven o'clock they all ended up on the back porch. The higher the moon was getting in the sky, the more antsy the werewolves were getting. The play fighting between Alec and Isabelle was getting rougher, and Clary cringed as she heard the crack of one of their bones. Werewolves healed quickly, but even broken bones usually took a couple of hours to heal. On the night of a full moon, however, they recovered much quicker, especially once they had shifted.

Sammy was making little growling noises in the back of her throat as she rolled around on the ground, scrambling to crawl over Maia, her claws scratching at Maia's arms and ripping through the old sweatshirt she was wearing. Simon, Max and Jem were fighting, similar to Alec and Isabelle, although nowhere near as rough as the siblings were being. Magnus was sitting on the railing of the decking, playing with his magic, blue sparks surrounding his hands, and occasionally he would flick his fingers towards Alec and Isabelle, giving his boyfriend a bit of an advantage by sending Isabelle off balance. Jordan's was sitting on one of the wooden chairs around the outdoor table next to Clary, and he only had eyes for his girlfriend and daughter. Jace wasn't smiling, but he looked relaxed, serene, as he sat down on the top step of the deck, looking down into the backyard.

Clary was watching Jace, the Alpha, who was breathing in and out through his nose, head tipped to one side to lean against the wooden railing, as he surveyed his pack. His hair was ruffling slightly in the breeze, and his lips were curved ever so slightly upwards. They looked soft and full and...Clary blinked when Simon turned from where he was standing with Max and Jem and gave her a not particularly happy look. She felt embarrassment run through her as she realized he must be smelling her shift in emotions, and she was glad that he was the only one that seemed to pick up on it.

It was ten before it was full dark, and Clary could feel how restless they all were. Max let out a noise almost like a whine a couple of times, and even Jace wasn't able to sit still, his fingers twitching against his thigh where his hand was resting.

"Let's go," he announced, and the werewolves practically fled from the house, already bare-foot and wearing old clothes that they didn't care getting shredded and dirty. Jace sent a quick smile over his shoulder to Clary before he ran out to join his pack, and she could hear howls of approval from the were's as they shifted and let themselves get lost. Jordan ran out after them, leaving just Magnus and Clary at the edge of the forest. She was about to take off in the same direction as the rest of the pack when Magnus put his hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" Clary gave Magnus a concerned look and he just smiled at her.

"Sure am, doll," he smiled at her, and reached out to touch her arm, and she felt a jolt run through her blood, her fingertips buzzing lightly. "Just something extra to help you run faster, keep up with your man." Clary rolled her eyes, but smiled. It wasn't often that Magnus pressed his magic on Clary, mainly because she was more than happy to function like a normal human among the supernaturals around her, but there was definitely something special about tonight.

It was her first night running on a full moon with the Alpha as her partner.

Clary reached up and kissed Magnus on the cheek quickly before running into the forest. She could feel the magic in her legs and her chest, pushing her legs faster than normal. She wasn't going to be passing the werewolves anytime sooner, but she was definitely moving at a quicker pace than usual. There was a chill in the air, but her body warmed quickly as she ran among the trees, dodging under low hanging branches and smiling to herself when she heard a howl from one of the were's somewhere deeper in the forest. The wind was picking up and it felt good against her cheeks as she felt someone at her side. She slowed her pace, and Maia stopped beside her, Sammy clinging to her neck with her eyes glowing gold and a wide, happy smile on her face.

"You good?" Maia asked, panting a little, her eyes glowing gold and her words slightly lisped from her fangs.

"I'm good," Clary nodded. "You go," she waved her hand toward the forest, not wanting to slow the were down. Maia smiled, leaning forward and nuzzling her cheek against Clary's before taking off again, Sammy letting out a happy squeal that echoed throughout the clearing. Clary shifted her direction slightly, still careful to pick out her path despite how quickly she was moving. The were's ran in bare feet and it wasn't unusual for them to get scratches and slashes up their legs and arms, and sometimes they would end up with twisted ankle, but unlike her, they healed within a couple of minutes whereas she had to run with shoes and make sure she didn't step badly.

She was heading toward the right side of the forest, where she ended up a lot on these nights. One side of the forest dropped away into rocky terrain, and there was a cliff edge that split the forest in two. Sometimes the werewolves would jump between the two edges, and even though she knew that they could easily make the distance, her stomach still jumped into her throat every time because if they missed the edge, it was all jagged rocks below. Max actually had missed once and fallen, and it had taken almost twenty-four hours before his body was healed again. She reached the edge of the of the cliff and came to a stop, taking in a deep breath.

She wasn't a werewolf, but she could feel the pack. She knew that it wasn't the same as what the werewolves could feel, or what Magnus could feel, but there was just something buzzing over her skin that told her that they were all near. Somewhere in the forest far behind her, there was playful growling and yipping, and then there some high pitched squealing which would have been coming from Sammy. She knew that the pack would be rolling around, play fighting, running and stretching their legs, letting their wolves take over when they were usually held back.

The sky was completely clear and the forest was well lit from the bright moon, and Clary could dimly see the lights of town over the tops of the trees through the clearing where the divide in the forest was. Despite how dangerous this cliff edge was, it was still gorgeous, the rocks metres below looking blue in the moon light.

There was a growl behind her and Clary had just turned around in time to see a pair of red eyes in the forest before they disappeared. Her heart started beating faster, anticipation building in her chest as she sucked her lower lip into her mouth and waited for the red eyes to appear again.

They did, and this time Jace surged through the forest line, jumping toward her and wrapping an arm around her waist as he brought their mouths together, his fangs sharp against corner of her lips.

 **I've written this about four times now, and I'm just going to keep it simple.**

 **On the 15th of March 2019, there was a terrorist attack in my beautiful country, New Zealand. This is the first ever mass shooting on this level during peace time in the beautiful islands that I have spent my whole life in.**

 **This doesn't happen here. We don't have mass shootings. We don't have a fear of one another to the point where it drums up anger that turns to hate.** **In the words of our absolutely incredible Prime Minister, " _They are us_."**

 **We are all one people, and we can't let hate win.**

 **I hope you all spend time with people that you love and cherish, and I hope you never hold back to show this.**

 **Arohanui and Kia Kaha x**


	23. Chapter 23

Jace and Clary got back to the house before anyone else.

Usually on the nights of a full moon, they would all end up in a tangled puppy pile in the lounge, spread out across a couple of mattresses. Sometimes Simon and Isabelle wouldn't be there, still wired and filled with a buzz from the full moon, the pair of them unable to take their hands off each other as they stumbled upstairs to their bedroom, sometimes it was Jordan and Maia or Alec and Magnus.

This time, it seemed as though it was Jace and Clary's turn.

"Shit!" Clary let out a squeak when they reached the backyard and Jace wrapped his arms around her waist, knocking her slightly off balance. She was panting and breathless and she could feel sweat beginning to bead at her forehead while, of course, the only indication that Jace had been ripping through the forest at top speed was that his hair was ruffled. Jace spun her around in his arms so that their chests were pressed together, and he dragged her backwards so that they were tripping backwards toward the house. Clary could barely feel her legs, partly being tired from her run and partly because the instant Jace flashed his eyes at her and gave her this look that bordered on feral, it felt as though her limbs all turned to jelly.

"You smell so good," Jace growled out, ducking his head to bury his face in her neck. Clary keened, her back arching as she followed him blindly, feeling her feet catch on the uneven ground but knowing that Jace would steady her. She grabbed the back of his shirt, her fingers curling into the fabric as she felt them reach the steps. She clumsily tried to lift her feet, but the way that Jace's muscular body was pressed up against her, and the way his teeth were nibbling at her neck, and the way her skin felt as though it was on fire from the touches Jace was leaving against her cheek and back and ass was making her practically useless. She felt intoxicated, and shaky, and the front of her shoe caught on the lip of the step and she fell even more heavily against Jace.

"Oomf," Clary grunted as Jace decided to just pick her right up of the ground. One of his hands gripped her ass while the other supported her back as he easily cleared the steps and sat her down on the outdoor table. He pushed her legs further apart, crowding into the V of her legs and kissing her hard on the mouth. Both of the Alpha's hands were on her face, controlling the kiss as he tilted her face to the side, his thumbs pressing against her cheeks and his fingers curling underneath her jaw. His tongue probed at her lips, and the human was more than happy to part her plush lips for him, and he dipped inside her warm mouth.

His fangs pressed against her mouth, and it sent a shiver through her body, letting her tongue flick out and lick over one of them. Jace's body jerked at that—at the blatant acceptance she had for his wolf—and it made him whine. Clary pulled back to look at his face, her eyes bright with her pupils dilated, and her lips were already red and spit-slick from their kisses. She seemed to be waiting for something or looking for something. Whatever it was—maybe it was double checking that his whine was one of approval and not one of discontent—she leaned forward and did it again, running her tongue over his lower lip before flicking it over his fangs.

"Shit, Clary," Jace's voice rumbled from deep in his chest, and she heard the slight snick of his claws pressing through the material of her shorts. She was glad they were an old pair, because just like the werewolves she had learnt that it was a good idea to wear clothes that would get torn and ripped. "Come on," he jerked her off the table, back into his arms, and she happily twined her arms around his neck. They stumbled inside, Clary leaving kisses over Jace's face as he made it to the stairs and started up toward his bedroom. She could feel his claws pressing against her skin, not hard enough to hurt, but definitely firm enough that she could feel their presence. It made her want more, wanting to feel those claws scratching over her skin in other places, own her shoulders, over her stomach, between her thighs... " _Fuck_!" Jace swore as they reached his bedroom and he kicked the door shut behind them. "You have _no idea_ how fucking good you smell, babe."

"Come on, Alpha," she knew that she was just encouraging the wolf in him with her words, using his title, making his eye bleed red and a growl spill from his lips. Clary smirked, feeling a twinge of pride at being able to incite the reaction from the usually in control Alpha. Jace blinked at her, trying to breathe in calmly through his nose, even though he knew that it was all for nothing. It was the full moon and the girl that he had been in love with for so long was making his wolf rise to the surface, and he wasn't going to be able to keep it down.

Which didn't seem to bother Clary, _at all._

With a strangled howl, Jace ripped off her shirt, her bra quickly following after. Clary let out a gasp, but there wasn't a hint of fear in her eyes or in her scent. He already knew that she accepted him, all of him, but since their first night together, he had managed to reign back his supernatural strength and the animal inside him. He wasn't sure just how much Clary wanted, but from the way the smell of arousal spiked when his claws had touched her skin and his fangs had dropped form his gums, he could correctly assume that she wanted _all of him_.

"Jace..." Clary's fingers tangled in his shirt and jerked him even closer to her, as though she wanted their bodies to meld together. He pushed her backwards until she reached the set of wooden drawers with a mirror on top. The mirror was big, and when Jace grabbed Clary's arm and spun her around so that her back was pressed to his chest, she could see both of their bodies from mid-thigh until above their heads. Jace looked absolutely gorgeous, his golden hair a mess around his head, his eyes glowing red and his fangs pressed over his lips, looking sharp and dangerous. She looked debauched, no shirt or bra on, chest heaving, lips swollen and eyes glazed.

Jace wasted no time, pulling off her shorts and underwear, and then throwing away his own clothes, before roughly positioning her hips the way he wanted them. His claws had receded, but his fingers were so tight that she was going to have bruising the next morning. She hoped they lasted long enough for him to mark her, so that them tomorrow morning.

"Fuck!" Jace swore and Clary blinked, focusing on his reflection on the mirror. He was staring at her, and she realized that she had said her last thought out loud.

"What?" Clary's voice was husky, and she barely recognized it. "You think just because I'm human I don't want your mark on me?" It was definitely a werewolf thing, she knew that. Just like with exposure of the neck, which was the most vulnerable part and showed absolute trust as well as being the part where the scent was strongest, leaving their mark on a lover was something that resonated with the primal part of the werewolf. He already left marks over her neck and shoulders, sucking hickeys and bruises into her pale skin, but he hadn't ventured anywhere else after their first night.

"You're so fucking perfect for me," Jace growled as he put one hand between her shoulder blades, pushing her forward so that her face was only inches away from the mirror, her ass sticking out. "So fucking perfect." Clary's breathing was heavy and labored and she felt his claws pressing against the skin of her back. He scratched them slowly over her skin, and she felt the burn as they undoubtedly left red marks over her, and she wiggled her hips backwards, feeling the brush of his hard cock against her ass. It took one hard thrust, and then Jace was buried to the hilt inside her.

"Oh, _shit_ ," Clary's whole body jerked at the intrusion. Both of Jace's hands gripped her hips, pulling her back almost violently to meet his thrusts. His cock was hitting that spot inside of her, touching her walls, filling her up, making her body fly forward with every hard drive into her. "Jace...J- _Jace_..." her limbs felt boneless and she could already feel an orgasm approaching. Jace shifted one of his hands so that it reached between her body and the top of the set of drawers, quickly finding her clit. "Oh God... _God_ —fuck, fuck—" Clary hips jerked, going out of sync with Jace's thrusts, and then her climax rolled over her in a drugging wave.

"That's right, baby," Jace's words were muffled and sounded far away as he kept on circling her clit, pinching it and keeping the elated feeling going as she came again and then again for a third time, her thighs tensing up and her toes curling into the carpet. Her vision was blotted and her breathing was raspy and she couldn't feel her legs or her arms or _anything_ except for the incredible feeling of Jace filling her. She barely even processed Jace lifting her up and stretching her out on the bed until suddenly she blinked and she was staring up at Jace's face. He balanced one hand beside her head, planting a quick kiss on her mouth before wrapping his other hand around himself. Clary was vaguely aware of him moaning and jerking at his cock, and she turned her head to the side, lifting her chin so that her throat was completely bared to him, her hair splayed out on the bed. " _Fuck_ ," Jace growled out at her display of submission, the final straw that sent him over the edge, pulling out of her at the last minute.

She felt his fangs pierce through her skin and the warm streaks of his come across her stomach and over her breasts. Clary let out a whistling sigh as Jace's tongue licked a stripe from the base of her throat, up to her mouth, kissing her hard, full of teeth and fangs and tongue.

"I guess..." Clary slurred as Jace shifted her further up the bed, her body still feeling limp, well fucked. "I guess now you've probably marked me." She felt his hand on her stomach and breasts, rubbing the come into her skin. It wasn't something he had done before, but she had heard Isabelle and Maia talk about it before. It was another way of scent marking, a hell of a lot _stronger_ way of scent marking. Any werewolf who came within smelling distance with Clary would be able to smell that she was with an Alpha, that she was marked as _his_.

She liked that.

"I love you," Jace's lips were close to her ear as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her sweaty body in close, rolling her over so that her back was to his chest. He gathered her in close to him, arms circled her stomach, his face pressed against her neck and her legs curled up so that he could spoon her properly.

"I love you too," Clary replied, her words so quiet they wouldn't have been audible to a human.

It was lucky she was saying them to a werewolf.

 **Alright! Recommendations, as per usual...Of course I have to say _Sucker_ by the Jonas Brothers, because those boys were part of my childhood! And then _Angel_ by Theory of a Deadman, which I haven't heard in yeeears. Also Side Bit by Drax Project, who are incredible. And thennnn _Hostage_ and _Bellyache_ by Billie Eilish. I like a lot of her songs anyway, but those are my favourites. Ooh, and _Blue Jeans_ by Sofia Karlberg.**

 **Also, related to music, please, please, PLEASE check out the Vevo Live version of _Who Do You Love?_ by 5SOS and Chainsmokers. I wasn't too keen on the song the first time I heard it, even though generally I adore 5SOS, but I liked the music video, and then the Vevo live version is fucking awesome, I've watched it so many times. Haha. Calum is just so beautiful, Ashton has always been my favourite, and then Luke and Michael, well...I don't generally ship real people, but let me tell you, I can definitely see why people ship them together. Haha. And Luke's glow up from twink to daddy was...Well, intense. Haha. He has killer style now, I love it.**

 **Um, _Instant Family_ was a great movie! Everything I hoped it would be. I've also recently started watching _Flack_ with Anna Paquin and _The Resident_ , and I definitely recommend both! And also _Fear The Walking Dead_ —I never really got into the _The Walking Dead,_ but I've really gotten into this one. My heart belongs to Nick and Alicia. And then also _Discovery of Witches_ , even though I haven't finished the first season yet. But I really liked it. I got sort of trashy, worse-than- _Twilight_ vibes from the trailer and wasn't really feeling it, but it surprised me and I'm really enjoyed it.**

 **Okay! My questions this week aaaare;**

 **What is something you did today that you're proud of yourself for? Could be anything! Mine could be I didn't cry today. Haha. Nah—I shaved my legs! It's been a while, and given we're still hot weather and I'm wearing skirts to work, it's a bit overdue. It's a small thing but, buddy, we gotta be happy over the small things!**

 **What is the last show you watched? I don't care if it was something playing in the background, or something you were watching with your kids that's annoying—just put it in there. Haha. I'm currently watching Strike Back, which I've recently gotten into. Good for some background distraction as I type. Actually, in the time between typing this and then posting it, I've actually moved onto Jeremy Kyle now. Hahaha. Always great.**

 **And the last one is, did the news of the Shyland engagement rock your world or was it just me? Hahaha. Me and my best friend were squealing when we saw it on snapchat and twitter, I adore Shane and Ryland.**

 **My Tumblr is SereneCalamity, and my Twitter is CalamitySerene if you want to chat x**


	24. Chapter 24

**So this one is nearly done! I've only got about four or five chapters left, I think...**

Clary woke with a start when she felt Jace jerk in the bed underneath her, sitting up so quickly that her neck twisted into a slightly painful position as she fell off his chest. She rubbed one of her fists into her eyes, blinking sleepily over at Jace, who was now frozen in a seated position, his head tilted to one side. Everything was completely silent, but there was a tension in the air that Clary didn't like, and she knew better than to say anything, disturb Jace. Then there was a howl—perhaps the second one, because the first was probably the first one that woke Jace up—and Jace was getting out of bed quickly.

"Jace?" Clary said quietly as she got out of bed as well, opening up her overnight bag beside the bed and pulling a singlet out. "Who is that?" She realized that the window was open, Jace must have pushed it was open at some point, which is how they had heard the howl in the first place.

"No one I recognize," Jace shook his head. "And it's getting closer. The first howl was further away, this one is closer, and—" he broke off, and Clary heard the howl again, this time closer still, and Jace let out an involuntary growl. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants, and Clary was trying to keep up, finding a pair of her leggings and then grabbing one of his hoodies. Clary scrambled after him, and as soon as the door opened, Clary saw Simon and Isabelle coming up the stairs from the ground floor, their eyes wide. When they saw Jace and Clary jogging their way, they turned and went back downstairs, where the rest of the pack had been tangled up with each other sleeping, and were all now wide awake. Clary felt a twinge of guilt at being upstairs with Jace, their Alpha, on the night of a full moon, rather than all of them being down here together, even though it wasn't unusual for some of the couples to do that occasionally.

But that was something for later, right now, all of the were's were looking concerned, and Magnus' eyes were glowing gold, showing his warlock mark, blue magic swirling around his hands and inching up his arms.

"What's going on?" Clary asked as she looked around the room.

"It could be nothing," Isabelle began. "It's the full moon—you know that we can run forever during a full moon. Maybe it's just an omega, gotten lost while running, not realized that they've trespassed onto an Alpha's territory."

"Or it could be that rogue Alpha," Jem's voice was quiet, and Clary wouldn't have been able to hear what he was saying if he wasn't standing right beside her.

"Come on," Jace grunted, looking around at his pack. "We'll all go out, find out who it is." He glanced at Clary, and then over to Jordan, who was standing next to Maia with Sammy in his arms, the toddler fully awake as she watched the rest of her pack intently, one arm clasped around her fathers bicep with little claws extended. It probably hurt Jordan a little, pressing into his skin, but Jordan was unphased, undoubtedly used to it. Maia turned to Jordan, leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the mouth and resting her hand on Sammy's cheek before taking a few steps towards the door, which Jace was now facing. The beta's all began walking quickly toward the doors, all of them with their shoulders tense and eyes glowing, but they hesitated when they realized that Jace wasn't with them.

"Jace?" Alec raised an eyebrow, and then all the beta's froze again when they heard another howl, this time it sounding a little further away this time, as though the werewolf was running in the opposite direction.

"We need to go," Isabelle said warningly. "We need to catch the were before it disappears." Jace nodded and then reached out to circle his fingers around Clary's upper arm. He looked at her, and she could see a sheen of worry in his eyes, and in the downturn of his lips.

"You need to go down to the basement," Jace stated, his voice low, and he looked over at Jordan and Sammy. "All of you do. You know where the weapons are kept, get one of the guns with the wolfsbane bullets." Clary's eyes widened at the implications of what he was saying. He really seemed to think that there was a threat out there, even though Isabelle had tried to explain it away. "You know how to shoot, you need to keep each other safe." Clary swallowed hard, and he held her gaze for a few more minutes, trying to reassure her silently. Then the softness in his eyes faded as he straightened up, rolling his shoulders. "Stay in the basement until we come and get you." Clary nodded. She wanted to reach forward and give him a tight hug, because she could see how nervous he was, and the rest of the pack, and that made _her_ worried, but she stopped himself. She needed to be strong for all of them, and if she was the partner of the Alpha, then she had to learn to steel herself against showing any type of weakness.

But just as she thought that he was going to turn to join his beta's, Jace's hand pulled her closer, jerking her body so that it collided with his and pressing a rough kiss to her mouth. His hand shifted from her arm to her throat, possessively gripping her neck with his thumb resting just behind her ear. When he pulled away, his eyes were glowing red, and Clary swallowed hard and the intensity in his gaze made her stomach squeeze so tightly she felt a little nauseous, the breath feeling as though it had left her lungs.

" _Stay in the basement_ ," he emphasized, and Clary jerked her head quickly. Then all of the werewolves were running from the house and Clary took in a deep breath and turned to face Jordan and Sammy.

"You alright?" Jordan asked quietly, and Sammy looked silently between the two of them, her little eyes glowing. Outside, they could hear howls—howls that they knew were their pack. Clary never used to understand how they could be told apart, but after the years she had now spent with the were's, she knew the distinctive howl of each werewolf as easily as she could tell their voices apart.

"I'm fine," Clary nodded. "We should head down." Jordan nodded in agreement and the two humans, along with the the small werewolf, walked down the hallway to the last door, just past Jordan and Maia's room. It wasn't often that Clary came down here—she could actually probably count the amount of times on her hands. She turned on the light switch and it flickered on dimly. The basement was mainly filled with old furniture, sports equipment that the boys would sometimes break out, and then there was some almost archaic torture looking items that struck a chord in Clary. When Simon had first been turned, some of those items were used to help keep his wolf under control on the night of full moons. Clary had been furious, yelling at Jace that he was abusing her friend, and the other were's had needed to explain to her that it was a way of learning control, that all new were's had to go through it, even born werewolves needed to as they got older and became more powerful.

"You're not the only one who hates those," Jordan said quietly, and Clary realized that she had come to a stop to look at the metal instruments. "That's going to be Sammy in those things in a couple of years time, when her wolf starts coming through." Clary winced at the idea, but Jordan gave her a small smile. "It's okay. Jace only does what's best for his pack. That's definitely something I've learnt over the years."

"It won't be as bad for her," Clary reassured him softly. "Since she's a born wolf." Jordan nodded as Clary walked over to the safe that was attached to the wall. They all knew the code for the safe, and she tapped it in and took in a deep breath as she saw the guns inside. "Shit," she hissed, scrunching her nose as she cataloged what was inside.

"You've got this," Jordan raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, well, the only times I've shot a gun is when Jace has forced me out to do shooting practice with you and Jem," she replied as she pulled out the smallest gun. It felt weird and foreign in her hand, but she knew how to check and see that it was empty.

"It's okay," Jordan assured her, bouncing Sammy up and down on his hip. "You really think that our pack is going to let that were anywhere near this house?" He asked, clearly trying to make Clary feel better. Sammy's eyes were still wide, and she was twitching her head from side to side and her little nose kept on twitching, which was making Clary more nervous than the howls that were coming from the forest surrounding the house. "Just load up the gun and let's turn off the light, head to the back." Turning off the light was simply for their own benefit, making them feel as though they were safer in the dark because they couldn't see anything. But any werewolf—or really, any supernatural creature—would be able to hear them, scent them, see them in the dark.

"We'll be fine," Clary agreed as she opened up one of the wooden boxes and found silver bullets that were specially made, laced in wolfsbane. She loaded the gun and triple checked that the safety was on before turning off the light. She stubbed her toe on the corner of something on her way over to where Jordan and Sammy were, her eyes barely able to make out anything in the dark.

"So..." Jordan took in a deep breath, one of his arms tight around Sammy while the other reached out to link with Clary's. "Now we wait." Clary hummed out her agreement, trying to ignore the feeling in her stomach that said something bad was about to happen, her hand tightening around the weapon.

 **So my song recommendations this week... _Polygraph Eyes_ by Yungblud, I think it's incredible. Also the live cover version _I Will Follow You Into The Dark_ by Yungblud and Halsey, and this also shows incredible chemistry between them. So, Yungblud, real name Dominic Harrison...I totally understand that he's not everyone's cup of tea, but I adore him. He's only twenty-one and he has written some incredible songs. _Polygraph Eyes_ is about sexual assault and the consent issue that is so big right now. _Medication_ that talks about our heavily medicated society, and _Kill Somebody_ , which is a something of a visual representation of depression and anxiety, which hits hard for me. He's really open about his own mental illness and ADHD, and he's continually breaking down gender norms and sexual stereotypes—dude wears more pink that a Disney princess, rocks dresses and skirts, regularly makes out with his guitarist and has a beautiful relationship with Halsey. I recommend him so much, he's just so unapologetically himself and blunt and incredible, please, please, please check him out. **

**TV series and movies...I'm really enjoying _Bull_ and _Ray Donovan_ at the moment. Also, _Animal Kingdom_ , which I started watching for Finn Cole, who is also in _Peaky Blinders_ , and it's fucking amazing. So is _Peaky Blinders_ , though. So both of them. We also recently rewatched _Hairspray_ , which I adore. Haha. **

**Ooh, also! We have release date for the new _Veronica Mars_ series! I feel like I've been waiting a life time for it. And for _Big Little Lies_! I wasn't to keen on a second season just because the first one was complete and there was only one book, but I'm still excited for it. **

**I've gone to a couple of concerts this month; Anne Marie and Billie Eilish. Both of them had such incredible voices live, they sounded pretty much exactly like their studio recordings and they had such insane energy. Anne Marie seemed like a total sweetheart, full of smiles and giggles, and then Billie was just amazing, that girl is going places given she's gotten this far and she's only seventeen. The whole crowd for Billie was on their feet the whole time, even us in the seated section—she was just magnetic. Tickets for her were insane, we only just managed to get some in the last release.**

 **Ooh, and Drax Project have a new music video out for their song _Woke Up_ Late featuring Hailee Steinfeld. My hubby wasn't too happy, because it's got Liza Koshy in it and he finds her frustrating at hell. **

**Now for my questions! Okay...What is a ship, or multiple ships, that have broken your heart, or that have really made you feel just a little fucked up? Can be canon or not. My top one would have to be Hanna/Caleb from _Pretty Little Liars_. I absolutely fucking hated season 6 and 7 of _PLL_ , and I stopped watching it until they got back together, and even then, it actually felt like my whole stomach had been ripped out of my body when there was the whole Spencer/Caleb story line. And then the other two would be Landon/Jamie from _A Walk To Remember_ and Ian/Mickey from _Shameless_. Holy shit. My fucking heart. There are plenty of other couples that really hit me as well, Steve/Bucky from _Avengers_ , Alex/Michael from _Roswell: New Mexico_ , Bellamy/Clarke from _The 100_ , Logan/Veronica from Veronica Mars, Chuck/Blair from _Gossip Girl_ , Will/Alicia from _The Good Wife_ and Jane/Michael from _Jane The Virgin_ to name a few.**

 **Next one; what is your favourite colour? Super easy, right? Haha. Although I don't have one, so maybe it's not...Green or purple? Maybe? Haha.**

 **And then; are you preparing to be emotionally fucked up by _Avengers: Endgame_ , or are you completely indifferent? I'm seeing it in a couple of hours, and I tell you, I am fucked. And I am _going_ to be so fucked. I've looked up every spoiler possible, watched a bit of the leaked footage and I'm still not prepared. If you guys want any spoilers or anything, just message me, and I'll try to retain everything through my hysteria.**

 **Just as my last point, my love and heart goes out to those in Sri Lanka. My cousin and I cried when waking up and reading what happened and I can't even fathom how those who were involved and directly affected are feeling right now.**

 **Love to you all xx**


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